AA: Panzerkrieg
by Madcinder
Summary: Tales past of heroes whose actions changed the world long ago mean nothing in the here and now. Fables and fantasies are useless when you're faced with the possibility of death every day. Within the machines of war rest the soft hearts of young girls who practiced the art of Tankery, conscripted for their ability. A tale of new heroes being born, and villains being made.
1. Prologue: The Letter

_"Life is different out here. It's cold every night, and I never get more than a couple hours of sleep at a time. Between keeping watch and keeping mobile, there's no time for it. My driver has been ill for the past week, and we haven't been able to arrange for her to be sent back and replaced, so I've been taking care of her as well as pulling half her workload. Add that and a sniper taking out our spotter to my normal duties, and it's a miracle I've found the time to write this._

 _I want to say I wish I was there with you, but someone needs to fill this position and I am the best there is. It would be selfish to wish you were here with me. No, I don't wish this on anyone, least of all you._

 _I really do wish I were back home with you. There's no sense hiding it. I wish this was over. I wish so many things, but wishing is in vain. That said, I wish you the best. You're young and strong, with a full life ahead of you, and you deserve the best in everything. So don't follow me. Don't come to this awful war._

 _There is still so much I have to teach you, so I expect you to be prepared when I return home. Send your sister my love, and take care of each other in my absence. You know I love you both dearly."_

"Commander! Artillery!"

"Take cover!"

"No, Commander! Look! Coming over the hill! Ours!"

Lifting her head, the Commander set the letter aside with the pen. She climbed up through the hatch, looking around quickly. Three friendly artillery vehicles were rolling up over a hill around two hundred meters to their right. A number of soldiers were walking alongside them.

She turned and hit her loader, who was also now the spotter, in the shoulder. "Asshat! Don't shout out like that! I thought we were under fire! You scared the shit out of me!"

Rubbing her shoulder, the loader pouted. "Sorry, Commander."

"Well…" Letting out a relieved sigh, the Commander ducked back into the tank. "Raise those Arties and see if there's any help we can offer."

Climbing back into the tank, the loader/spotter looked to the Commander. "I don't get it. We're too close to the front lines. Those Arties are too close. Did they lose track of their location, or…?"

The Commander turned to the operator. "Ask them what their orders are. They're at risk here."

The operator did as she was told, then came back with a dark look on her face. "There's no radio activity in the area at all."

"Okay, I don't like this. All tanks move in! We have to assume that's captured artillery! Keep trying to raise them and let me know the instant you get a response." She kicked the sickly driver in the shoulder. "Panzer vor!"

A column of thirty-four tanks turned and started for the artillery. Their engines roared and their treads tore the ground. The tank operators received their orders and passed it along to the rest of their crews. The loaders lifted the shells into the main cannons. The drivers pushed their armored vehicles forward relentlessly.

The artillery spotted them. It looked like they were surprised to encounter anyone else here. They were closer to the front lines than artillery would normally want to be. If they were indeed captured guns, then they were much too close to the column of tanks. The Leopard 2 tanks continued to close the distance, kicking up dust behind them. They had to get closer, so the artillery would have no effect.

The operator raised her hand, grabbing her Commander's pant leg. "They're responding! Allied forces!"

The Commander shouted over the sound of the engine. "All tanks stand down!"

The message went out, and was almost soon enough to prevent anyone from opening fire. One Leopard fired its main cannon, but the shot went astray and disappeared into the treeline several hundred feet behind the artillery. The field was silent as the echoing of the lone shot died down.

The Commander climbed out of her tank, much to the relief of the men standing alongside the artillery. She saluted them. Everyone let out their breath, glad that they would be granted a further respite from combat. Within moments, the air was still.

A high-pitched whistling cut through the air, giving them all less than a second's warning before the first shell hit. The Leopard that had fired was blown apart in the explosion, pieces of its tracks and twisted shrapnel that had been armor plating flew in all directions. The thunderous boom of the artillery strike masked the sound of more incoming shells that began to pepper the Leopards. The friendly artillery was obliterated, and it would have been a miracle if any of the soldiers were still in one piece.

Practically falling back into her tank, the Commander kicked her driver again. "Get us out of here! I don't care where! We're stuck in a death trap here! Go! Go! Go!"

Out of the smoke and dust, the surviving twenty-one tanks broke for the trees. There was no way to know where the enemy was. It was artillery, real enemy artillery, so it could be as far as forty kilometers away. She had to get back up and get a good look around.

The loader grabbed her. "Commander! Your neck!"

Reaching up and brushing her hand against her neck, the Commander drew her hand back to see red. A piece of shrapnel had caught her. She grabbed a rag and pressed it against the wound, then climbed back up again. She looked behind them to see the artillery strike again. The Leopards had mostly left the area being targeted, but shells still struck two at the back. One of the tanks broke apart and exploded. The other swerved and almost rolled over, but managed miraculously to continue going despite the smoke now coming from its engine. It must not have been hit directly.

Machine gun fire ripped through the trees as they dashed into the cover of the forest. Someone else was out there now, closer. She peered through the trees, looking for any sign of their new attackers. The colors and profiles of the tanks she saw in the distance were good news, M1's and Type 10's. Now if only she could get them to stop firing.

Ducking back in, she pressed the toe of her boot into the operator's side. "Machine gun fire from the South. Allied tanks. Tell them who they're shooting at and find out who they are."

While the operator was complying, the Commander stuck her head up again. The machine gun fire stopped moments later, just as the artillery hit again behind them. She noted that less shells struck this time, which probably meant the rest were adjusting their aim. They may have picked up the machine gun fire. She hoped they were too far away to pick that up, but she still didn't know where they were. She hadn't heard them firing, which meant they were a considerable distance at least, which meant going after them was not likely something they could do themselves.

The operator called up from within the tank. "It's Commanders Shimada's battalion. They say they've still got most of their tanks." She paused, listening to the messages she was receiving. "Commander Chouno was with them, but a few tanks got separated including hers, so Shimada has taken command of Chouno's battalion for the time being. There's more than eighty of them in all."

"That explains the Type 10's. Tell them we're joining up with twenty tanks. Artillery is after us as well, so we're all at risk. We need to keep moving and try to get clear. Hopefully we can find a place to stay hidden until allied forces take out the enemy artillery."

The operator relayed her message, then told her their response. "They're coming to us. We're well within enemy artillery's range and they're rallying to go after it."

The artillery started falling in the trees. She heard the tops of the trees shake and splinter overhead just before the first shell hit ahead of them. She closed the hatch to keep out the shower of dirt. "It's coming from the Northeast. That's behind us. We shouldn't be behind enemy lines right now. Did the lines move without us knowing?" More shells dropped around them. She kicked the driver. "Let's go! We need to keep moving! Bring us around! We're heading for that artillery!"

Climbing up out of the hatch, she looked over to the allied tanks. An M1 Abrams was at the head of the battalion, crashing through the underbrush. They deftly moved around the trees, keeping from hitting them. Any enemy that saw the trees shaking would know their position. The Abrams pulled up alongside the lead Leopard 2 and its Commander appeared from its own top hatch.

Chiyo Shimada saluted quickly, a gesture which the Commander returned. "You look pretty beat up. That's the same artillery that chased us into the forest. We haven't been able to raise any other allies in a week and a half, so we have no idea if there's already a plan to take them out. We have to do it ourselves if we don't want to be ground into dust."

The Commander nodded. "We'll call it a joint operation. And keep your eyes open. If they've managed to flank us, the reason we've been unable to raise anyone might be that they took the border and the lines have moved." She called down to the operator. "Tell all tanks to turn North-Northwest!"

Shimada leaned out of her tank further. "Good call. Do we divide our forces or all get caught in a shooting gallery together?"

"Divide." She pointed over to the East. "I need you to come at the from the opposite direction. It may divide us, but it'll divide their focus as well."

"Fair enough. I'll let you take thirty of the Type 10's with you." Shimada closed her hatch behind her, and the Abrams battalion began to move off, taking twenty Type 10's with them.

Artillery struck again, mostly missing, but an unlucky Abrams further off took a hit and exploded. The Commander waited to see if any further damage would be sustained, but it seemed like they were in the clear for the time being. After that, as they moved away, the enemy artillery only hit far behind them. Ten minutes in, the artillery stopped firing. She couldn't hear the strikes anymore. She ducked back into the tank.

"Full stop!"

Standing up out of the tank the moment it came to a stop, all the tanks behind it stopping as well, she looked around. They weren't open to the sky, so the artillery wasn't adjusting its aim for them. They couldn't. There was no way for the enemy to know where they were.

"Continue forward slowly. Don't give away our position in any way."

They crept ahead, the treads crunching the dirt pound by pound. Every inch of the way, every pebble and fern, was another bit of her nerves fraying. The tension was thick, the suspense of the moment crushing her. All her senses were on high alert, waiting for the first indication that the artillery had readjusted their aim. It was too good to be true that they'd given up.

The Commander watched the sky carefully for several minutes before turning back to the ground ahead of them. It was an instant too late. She saw the old tripwire. She never saw what it was hooked up too. There was no time. She dropped into the tank. If she'd had more time, she would have then stopped the tank, but as it was she only had the time to take cover.

The explosion rocked the tank. It wasn't that much of a concern by itself. The explosive wasn't very big, and was somewhere off to the left. There was probably not any real damage at all to the outside of the tank. That wasn't the problem. It was enough for the artillery to find them. She opened the hatch and called down into the tank as she climbed up.

"Full speed! Get us out of here!" The high-pitched whistle of incoming shells reached her ear. She looked up to she the next strike coming. It was too late. "Take cover!"

The lead Leopard two was hit, the artillery shell crushing its way through the tank Commander and causing the entire vehicle to erupt into flames. The operator and driver were obliterated by the shock of the explosion. The loader managed to climb out after the fact, falling to the ground as more artillery shells landed around her, tearing the rest of the tanks apart. She got up and staggered a few meters before falling to her knees. She reached out her arm to stop herself from falling, only to realize in her dazed state that the arm wasn't there anymore.

The Leopard 2 burned. The letter burned with it.


	2. Conscript: Military Seizure

Maho Nishizumi stood in front of the door, dressed in her Tankery uniform. She didn't know what to do. This was never something she considered, so she had no plans for how to approach it. She looked down at the two envelopes in her hand. She was here to deliver two different messages, neither of which she wanted to be delivering. She'd come to terms with it, however, that she didn't want anyone else delivering the messages. It was best coming from her.

She turned the envelopes over in her hands, contemplating how to address them. Maybe, she thought, it was too much all at once. She selected the less important of the two and hid it inside her uniform. It could wait. The door opened just as she was bringing her hand back out.

Miho stopped dead in her tracks, shocked to see her sister was waiting for her. "Maho…"

Straightening her uniform, Maho realized she was subconsciously making it look like she hadn't just hidden something. "Can I come in?"

"Um… oh, yes, of course- Oh, wait. But I'm going to be late for school." She started trying to close the door behind her.

"I called ahead. You're excused from classes today. Tomorrow too, if necessary."

"If necessary? Why would that be necessary?" The younger sister's eye caught on the envelope in Maho's hand. "What's that?"

Maho shuffled nervously, an unusual thing coming from her. Nervousness was always more typical of Miho, between the two of them. She took a deep breath, still preparing herself for this. "Can I please come inside."

Stepping back into her tiny apartment, Miho set her things aside. If she wasn't going to school, there was no reason to have gotten ready. Maho quietly followed her in. She wasn't really a loud and outgoing person most of the time, but her silence was starting to make Miho uncomfortable. The younger sister was unsure what to make of it.

"Is there anything I can get you? Are you thirsty? Or…"

"Miho."

"Yes?" She looked up at her older sister expectantly. Maho's being nervous was making her nervous.

Maho took a deep breath. "There's a war." That was all she could manage. The thought of what she was about to tell her sister was to heavy a burden.

Miho looked back down at the envelope, then back to her sister again. "What do you mean? Where?"

She steeled herself. It would hurt to be the one telling Miho, but it would hurt both of them more to let Miho's mind wander. "Far… far away. But it's getting closer." She took another deep breath. "The government has been trying to help in the war effort, to keep it far away from Japan. They needed the best fighters, so… so…"

"What are you saying? Are you…?"

"Mom went. Her ability commanding tanks is invaluable." She wanted to go, to hide from this position she'd been put in, but there was no way she would leave Miho hanging like that. "And now she's gone missing… and they… they think she's dead."

It took a moment. Then Miho started to wobble, and then she collapsed. Maho caught her, helping her down to the floor. There were several silent minutes that passed with nothing but Maho holding her sister. Miho shook in her arms. The news was disabling for her. Her relationship with their mother had never been the best, Maho knew this, but she also knew that Miho cared very deeply for others regardless of who they were. This was still their mother.

"Listen, Miho… they still don't know for sure. She might be out there somewhere." She patted Miho's head. "We're Nishizumis, Miho. We only lose when you're involved."

Miho nudged her sister with her head. "Stop it."

Maho forced a smile. "It's true, though. I can count only four Nishizumi losses ever, and they're all because of you. You lost against Pravda, then against St. Gloriana, and against the two of them together. And then you beat me. You're the only one who can make Nishizumis lose."

"…I suppose you're right." Miho barely managed a weak smile. "So she's still alive, because Nishizumis don't lose when I'm not around."

"Exactly." Maho let out her breath. At least it looked like she could get Miho to stay positive about this.

Miho looked up at her sister. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"That's…" Maho shook her head. "I'm sorry, Miho. She was already preparing to leave after our match with Selection University. She was writing letters, but… I wasn't passing them along to you. I should have told you."

Miho fell silent again. She sat up, but didn't push away from her sister. Maho knew she'd made a mistake, and she felt like there was going to be some sort of comeuppance eventually, even though she knew her sister wasn't that kind of person. Seeing her like this was punishment enough.

Maho carefully placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Miho stood up suddenly. She smiled, though the smile was weak. "Like you said. She might still be out there somewhere."

"Miho…"

"It's okay. It'll be okay." She walked around a bit, seemingly aimless and still a bit wobbly. "We'll just… have to go find her."

Maho jumped up. "No!" Miho snapped out of her trance-like moment, startled by her sister's shout. Maho stopped and took a deep breath. "Don't say that, please. It's a war zone. A real one. It's not like Tankery at all. There are no rules and regulations keeping you safe."

"I- I know that."

"Just please… promise me you won't try to find her." She couldn't stand the thought of her sister heading into a real battle.

Miho grabbed her sister in a close hug. "Thank you for coming to tell me." Stepping back, she smiled again, but this time it was a bit stronger. "I should go to school. My friends will be worried."

"But-"

"Come with me. I… I could use the company."

Maho nodded. She understood. With a few moments more of preparing, they left Miho's apartment. Miho left her bag behind, as she wouldn't be needing it. Maho locked the door behind them. The walk to Ooarai Girls High School was slow and quiet. They were in no rush, and had no reason to be. It was a calm and beautiful day, so they took their time walking.

The whole time, Maho was watching her sister carefully. She knew there were a lot of things occupying her mind right now, and was waiting eagerly for anything Miho might want to say. She didn't have long to wait before Miho made up her mind about something.

"I think you're right. We shouldn't just rush off and try to find her. She'd be pretty disappointed in us if we followed her into such a dangerous situation without being properly prepared." She hung her head sadly. "She'd be upset even if we _were_ prepared. And I wouldn't even know where to begin anyway."

"That's okay. You don't need to worry about it. I'm…" Maho paused, drawing a curious look from Miho. "I'm here to make sure you're safe."

"Thank you."

Maho fell into step just behind her sister, letting Miho lead the way. There was still something she had to tell Miho today, but it would be even harder to get it out. She couldn't leave without telling her sister, but she couldn't figure out how to say it. She had told the truth. She was here to make sure Miho was safe. She'd just neglected to mention what she wanted to protect her sister from.

They reached the front gate of the school, and Miho made a beeline to the garage building where the school's Tankery team kept their machines. Maho followed her, stopping at the garage door. She watched her little sister climb up onto the hull of the Panzer IV and lie down under the main cannon. She turned her head to look at Maho.

"They'll show up at lunch. We usually meet here to eat."

Maho nodded. So they still had a few hours to wait. There was nothing else to do, so she climbed up and lay down beside her sister. They sat staring at the garage ceiling, letting the minutes roll by. Maho wasn't sure how long it had been, but she was pretty certain Miho had fallen asleep more than once. She was content to let the silence continue, but someone would eventually interrupt it.

That someone entered the garage several doors down from them, in front of the M3 Lee. That someone was absently singing their way through an old German marching song that Maho recognized as Panzerlied. That person was taking clear liberties with the lyrics and sounded quite angry.

Miho opened her eyes, giving her sister a look of curiosity. The strange intruder suddenly oddly emphasized the middle of a line, cutting it short. This was immediately followed by what sounded like someone punching the frontal armor of an M3 Lee, and then shouting in pain. The sisters got up and turned to see who was disturbing their peace.

Miho recognized the person, but she certainly didn't recognize the attitude. "Erwin? That… that's not your tank."

Maho started to wonder if maybe the girl was drunk. She didn't know what standard of discipline Ooarai's Tankery team held its girls to. As it turned out, however, being drunk was just as good an impairment as the truth. This girl was _very_ angry.

Erwin shook her head. She didn't even look up at them. "What does it matter? They're taking mine. They're taking all the German tanks."

Miho jumped up. "What? Who's taking them?"

Sitting down with her back against the M3 Lee, Erwin took off her hat, tossing it to the ground beside her. "Men in uniforms showed up and said the military was allocating some assets. They're taking half our school's tanks and we're not even getting a day's notice. They'll be gone before school's out." She looked up at Miho. "Where have you been?"

Maho finally sat up. She looked over the Panzer IV she was sitting on. This was the tank Miho had used to beat her. If they were coming for it… "They must be getting desperate."

Miho looked up at her sister. "Who? The military?"

"I guess. I mean, doesn't the military have hundreds of top-of-the-line Main Battle Tanks? Why are they going out of their way for four old ones?" Erwin squinted up at Maho. "When did you get here?"

Maho took a deep breath. This was going to be a lot for both of them. "They've already taken most of Kuromorimine's tanks. When I left, the Maus was the only one left, and that's only because they were still figuring out how to transport it. They must really need tanks on the front lines if they're going so far out of their way."

Erwin nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "Mmhmm. They'd have to be losing tanks faster than they can make them and are trying to find any that they can that are still operational. Of course, this means commandeering them from Tankery teams."

Miho headed for the door. "I've got to stop this. If there's anything I can do…"

She was gone before Maho could stop her. Maho knew better. She knew there was nothing Miho could do. She knew it was only a matter of time before Ooarai lost the rest of its tanks as well. The two Japanese tanks and the American M3 Lee would be spotted the moment the military men stepped into the garage, and then they would try to take them as well. Maho leaned over to get a good look down the line of tanks. She was pretty sure they would take the French tank too, but there was no accounting for taste.

Erwin pushed herself up and set her hat back on her head, taking an extra moment to make sure it was secure. She glanced at Maho. "So, what are you doing here?"

Maho just stared at her for a moment, then turned away. "Look after Miho for me. I'll be back as soon as I can. There's something I need to take care of." She walked out of the garage. As soon as she was out the door, she broke into a run. If the military men were already here to take the tanks, that meant… The second envelope, the one she'd hidden in her uniform, suddenly felt much heavier.


	3. Conscript: Draft Order

Maho looked out over the ocean. She watched the waves crest and fall, and then break against the side of the school ship. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. It was a beautiful day, if only in appearance. She reached into her uniform and pulled out two envelopes. Their contents were identical this time, save for one letter. That letter made all the difference.

Leaning over the edge of the ship's massive deck, she looked down at the waves beneath her. Holding out the first envelope, she released it, letting it fall down, carried by the ocean wind until it landed on the surface of the water. It slowly soaked and sank out of sight. She wanted to let the other one go too, but she still had a job to do.

Putting it back in her jacket, she stepped away from the edge and headed back towards the school. It had taken her a while to run all the way back to Miho's apartment, and then back past the school to a forested part of the deck where no one would see her. She knew it was likely the military men would have already arrived at the garage to acquire the tanks by the time she got back. She hoped Miho wouldn't blame her for not being there.

She ran up beside the garage building, slowing to a walk just before turning the corner. Between the heat of the sun and the running, her sweat was starting to soak through her clothes. She was worried about it soaking into the envelope and ruining it, but she was more worried about appearing in front of everyone looking like she'd just run a marathon. Miho was certain to notice and ask her what she'd been doing.

They were all there. Ooarai High's entire Tankery team was there. The sense of helplessness was pervasive as they all watched the StuG III being towed out. It appeared that the girls had not even been permitted to stand in front of any part of the garage. The Hetzer and the Panzer IV were already out, and a large truck was waiting nearby for the tanks to be loaded on. It didn't look like the truck would be able to hold any more than three tanks, though.

This, she knew, was a disgrace. Taking the tanks these girls focused so much of their time around without more than a day of warning. If what had happened at Kuromorimine was any sign of what was to come, taking the tanks was hardly the biggest disgrace. From across the distance in front of the garage, she saw Miho. The look of despair on her face was the last straw for Maho.

Straightening her back and making like all the running, in her uniform, in the heat of the day, had no effect on her, Maho stormed over to the man directing the others. She stopped right behind him and waited. Another man silently pointed her out, and the man turned to face her.

"I thought you girls were told to stay clear while we're moving these. We don't need you getting in the way."

Maho hadn't thought about what she was going to say to him, but thankfully another man walked up to them and addressed him, giving her time to construct some sort of sentence in her head.

"Major, there's something else in there that I don't recognize. It looks like some sort of customized Tiger. Definitely based on a German design."

From the sidelines, Nakajima shouted at them. "Don't you talk smack about my tank!"

Hoshino piped in. "Only Ooarai's automotive club knows how to operate the Tiger (P)! It's useless to you without us!"

Suzuki joined in. "It's not modified, you idiot! It's a Tiger prototype!"

Finally, Saori shouted at them for good measure. "I'm never dating any of you! You hear me! Never!"

Maho called the Major's attention back to herself. "What are you planning to do with the other tanks?"

He looked down at her. "Their coming with us as well. The Type-89 is going straight into service as soon as it's cleared and crewed. The other three are going in reserve for now." He noticed her uniform. "You're not from this school. Who are you?"

Taking a deep breath, Maho reached into her jacket and pulled out the envelope, handing it over. "That will explain it."

He opened the envelope, taking out the paper and quickly scanning it over. "Hmm… Nishizumi, huh? Well then… we'll be loading the tanks onto our ship tonight, but we're setting off tomorrow morning at nine. You should be there."

She took the envelope back when he handed it to her, letting out a low sigh as she did. "I know."

"Now stand back with the others. You're just in the way right now."

As Maho walked over to the rest of the girls, most of them cheered her. They thought she was brave, and that she was standing with them. She felt like she was walking with her tail between her legs. There was nothing she could do. Nothing she could do to save their tanks, and nothing to stop what was coming next. She walked through them and continued on through their confused looks.

Miho ran to catch up with her. "Wait!" She stepped in front of her sister, blocking her way. "What was in that envelope?"

Maho's eyes glazed over, and she stared over Miho's shoulder. She couldn't look her sister in the eye. "You don't need to worry about that."

"But…"

"It's not your problem. I made sure of that." She tried to step around Miho.

Miho stepped in the way again. "What does that mean?"

"I've done what I can. We'll talk back at your place." With that, Maho pushed past her. After a moment of staring after her in disbelief, Miho ran to keep up with her.

The Major turned to the remaining girls, looking over them for a second. "You all have far more important things to focus on right now. You should go home."

A shorter girl, Midoriko Sono, placed her hands on her hips and shouted back at him. "In the middle of a school day? Are you crazy? Surely you of all people understand the concept of being absent without leave!"

"You have leave. Now leave." He waved them off as he turned back to his work.

The finality of his dismissal left them all in a state of disarray. The first year students and the volleyball team were the first to wander off, followed by Midoriko's team and the automotive club.

Erwin adjusted her hat and half-turned away. "Do we secede with dignity or keep fighting?"

The rest of her team considered their options carefully. It was Saemonza who found the solution. "Seppuku?"

Saori shoved her way between Oryou and Caesar. "How are number puzzles supposed to help?"

Mako appeared beside her, addressing the others and ignoring her own teammate. "Death before dishonor. Let's take our tanks back."

Anzu Kadotani, president of the school's student council, called them all over. "Come on. Everyone go home for now. We'll figure this out later. Right now, we're all too stressed out and upset to do anything smart about this."

The rest of them slowly wandered away, some heading home like they were told, others heading back to the school. Those that tried to return to their classes found that they had the rest of the day off. Confused and a little concerned, they too went home.

* * *

Maho finally stopped just outside Miho's apartment. She turned to look at her sister. "Miho… our mother… she may have been strict, but you know she did love us." Miho nodded. Maho let out a long sigh. "I never told you, but during your match with Pravda, she was there. She was watching the match with me."

"I see."

"No, you don't see. Miho, when I asked her, she said she was there to disown you." Maho cut off her sister before she could make any sort of disbelieving outburst. "But she didn't. It still bothers me why she didn't. When Pravda had you cornered and trapped, and we all thought you had lost, she just got up and left. She said it was a waste of time to keep watching, but… if that had been the end, then it would have been all the more reason for her to stay and to do what she told me she was going to do."

Miho shook her head, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You were more important to her than the family name, Miho. Even at your lowest point, she had to leave because she couldn't bring herself to do it." Maho looked away. "That's what I think, anyway."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Maho surprised Miho, grabbing her shoulders. "Listen to me. This is important. She wanted us to stay away from the war. She didn't want us to ever have to live through that. Never. I want you to promise me that you won't try to join the fight. Okay?"

"What?" Miho tried to break free. Her sister was starting to worry her. "What are you talking about? How would I even get there?"

"Miho, I mean it. They're running out of options over there, and they've started drafting people. Anyone who is already able to operate military machinery. They're taking vehicles from Tankery teams, but they're also taking the girls who operate them."

Miho gasped, stumbling back several steps. "What? How could they… How?"

"Desperation, Miho. They drafted Mom. They-" Maho reached into her uniform and pulled out the envelope. "They drafted all of us."

"Is that…" Miho covered her mouth with her hands, too shocked to finish. "No…"

"This is where I need you to promise me something, Miho." She held up the letter. "This is yours. The ship leaves tomorrow with the tanks, and everyone who has been drafted. Miho, don't go to the ship. Find someone you can stay with, because they'll look for you here."

"You… you want me to… I'm supposed to just hide?" Miho jumped forward, grabbing her sister and quickly searching through her pockets. "Where's yours. You can't go and leave me behind!"

Maho pushed her back, holding her at arm's length. "We don't have much time, so listen closely." She took a deep breath. "Tomorrow morning, Miho Nishizumi will be at the docks, and she'll get on the ship with her classmates. She'll prove it's her with these draft orders, the same ones I showed the Major earlier. I'll go, so that you don't have to. My draft orders are somewhere in the water behind the ship, so they can't find it anywhere. They'll be looking for me, but I'll be you, and you be… anyone else. Whoever you want to be. Just don't be me."

"But-"

"Let me protect you this way, Miho." She reached up and straightened her cap, resting her arms at her sides. Miho could see the sad determination in her sister's eyes. "This is how I'll protect you. But I can't protect everyone, so I do have to go. By now, your friends have all read their own draft orders. If I'm you, I can be there to lead them. I can protect them too. Your team, and mine."

* * *

Yukari Akiyama opened the front door of her family's barber shop. "I'm home." She didn't have the energy and wasn't in the mood for any cheerful greetings. The loss of the tanks, those precious tanks, was too much for her. That she knew what awaited them, probably being smashed apart by mortars and missiles, just made it all the harder. She headed right past her parents, making her way to her room where she could curl up in a blanket and cry.

"Yukari."

She stopped at the sound of her mother's voice. She didn't want to explain why she was home from school so early, but they probably deserved to at least know. "Yes, Mom?" She didn't turn around, not sure she could look at her parents. She didn't want them to see her suddenly start crying.

"You got a letter."

"What?" Yukari finally turned around, seeing her parents both standing there behind her, worried looks on their faces. "From who?"


	4. Conscript: Disappointment

Mako reached her home, already almost sleepwalking. When she opened her front door, the envelope fell flat and hit the ground. She looked down to see it lying there. Grumbling, she reached down and picked it up. She didn't want to have to deal with it tomorrow, so she opened it right there and read it. She nearly dropped it. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

Hana read her draft orders several times over to make sure she wasn't misreading. She kept hoping that she might have suddenly become dyslexic, but it was to no avail. She couldn't help but start to cry. She was going to war, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Saori found herself numb. She knew there was no way to change this, as much as she wanted to, and throwing a tantrum would help no one. She started packing, preparing to bring everything she needed and some of the things she knew everyone else would forget. This was happening, so she had to be ready.

Kadotani sat in the emptiest corner of her room, eating all the random treats she had left. There was no reason not to. This was probably the last time she'd be able to eat like this. She had no doubt that Kawashima was the reason for her phone ringing non-stop. She would answer eventually, but not right now. She still had a lot of food to go through.

Mallard Team had gathered together to make sure, through their frightened tears, that they would be the most ready of all the teams. Hippo Team got right down to business, packing and preparing. Leopon Team put on a bold face, going to check in on the first-year students of Rabbit Team.

It was then that everyone received a message from Yuzu Koyama, explaining military regulations regarding hairstyles. Up in her room, Yukari read the message out loud to herself, then ran downstairs.

"Dad! I think a lot of my friends are about to come over for haircuts!"

* * *

The morning had come. Maho walked out to the military ship that was docked with the massive school ship. The tanks were just now being loaded on. She could see the Type-89 was the last one on board, being lowered below deck for transport. All that was nothing unexpected. What she hadn't anticipated was the large crowd of people gathered around the docking station. They were there to wish the girls of Ooarai's Tankery team farewell.

Stepping quietly through the crowd, she made her way to the boarding ramp. She could see the Major waiting at the other end. She looked back at the crowd, who seemed to have noticed her now. They were calling out to her, asking her to take care and to stay strong. To come home in one piece.

The first of Ooarai's girls appeared, dragging a rolling suitcase behind her. Maho wasn't sure what the girl's real name was, but she knew everyone called her Erwin. She was still wearing her costume, trying to look like the German General from World War II, Erwin Rommel. She was far from tall enough, but Maho had to respect the effort.

Erwin's team followed closely behind her, Saemonza and Oryou pulling their own rolling luggage. The other girl, who everyone called Caesar, was carrying a duffel bag instead. The four of them generally ignored the crowd and walked right past Maho. One by one, they showed their papers to the Major, then made their way below deck.

Mako Reizei showed up next, with Yukari Akiyama right behind her. Maho noticed that Mako's hair was shorter, cut so that it didn't even reach her shoulders. Yukari's hair looked like it had been trimmed a little as well, but not nearly as much. Mako shuffled past Maho without a word.

Yukari stopped and looked up at Maho. "Where… where is she?"

Maho knew who she was talking about. "Miho is safe. I'm going to be taking care of you all from now on."

"I… see."

Saori and Hana appeared through the crowd. They had done their hair up in braids that they hoped would be acceptable, both inspired by Saint Gloriana's styles. They rushed past, probably thinking they were late.

At the other end of the ramp, Saori turned around and called out. "Yukarin! Come on!"

Yukari let out a sigh. "Well, I'll see you around." She dashed off after her friends.

The next to appear were Midoriko Sono, Nozomi Konparu, and Moyoko Gotou. The three of them looked as ready as they could be, but Maho could see how thin that disguise was. Her own was wearing thin as well, so she had to respect the effort they were putting into this. No doubt, Midoriko was the only reason the other two were keeping it together.

A pair of girls from Ooarai's automotive club arrived next. Maho wasn't sure of their names, but the one she recognized as the commander of Ooarai's Tiger prototype gave her a quick nod before walking across the ramp. The taller girl took a moment to look around, then followed. The other two girls from their team were only a few seconds behind. They all looked shaken and uncertain, but there was a level of strength in them that was absent in most of the others.

That's when Miho showed up. Maho saw her standing at the railing with the first year students, all of them wearing their Tankery uniforms. Maho knew they would be conscripted as soon as they could be, if they didn't volunteer first. Those younger girls looked more ready than their seniors, if only because they didn't want to be left behind. Apparently, another team hadn't been conscripted as well. Maho could see them, the three weird gamers from Ooarai's team. They had probably been overlooked by the military due to their rather poor performances, in Maho's opinion. They would be safer this way.

She watched as Kadotani struggled to make her way to the ramp, Kawashima hanging off of her. Koyama was right behind them, trying to calm Kawashima and get her off their leader. It wasn't working.

Kadotani stopped in front of Maho and looked her over. "I assume you want to protect your sister, so that's all I'll say about that. I've figured it out, you know."

Kawashima let go for a moment. "Figured what out? What's happening?"

With the brief instant of freedom, Kadotani dashed away and across the ramp, carting her luggage along behind her. The other two ran after her, dutifully following their leader. The Major stopped them all, insisting that they show their papers. With Kadotani's stature, Maho knew he would want to be certain she wasn't too young.

Too young. Maho frowned. That wasn't right. They were all too young. Nothing illustrated how painfully irritating the arbitrary rules being implemented regarding age were more than Noriko Isobe. She trudged along slowly, approaching the ramp at a snail's pace. The rest of her crew, the volleyball team, followed right behind her in their Tankery uniforms. Noriko herself was wearing normal clothes; jeans and a t-shirt. Maho had never seen her when she wasn't wearing her uniforms for Tankery or volleyball. It was always one of them.

The reason was obvious. Despite how much older the other three looked, they were still in their first year. Noriko was not. By the time their training was done, she would be an adult, as would all the second-years. Just like Miho.

They stopped just before the ramp, and the three younger girls gave Noriko long and tearful hugs one at a time. Akebi and Taeko went to join the other first-years, wiping their eyes. Shinobu stayed back and picked their leader up in her embrace. Noriko, stuck in the hug, let out a long sigh.

"Okay, you can put me down."

Maho heard Shinobu say something quietly to Noriko. "We'll come find you as soon as they let us." Then she put her down.

Noriko nodded, wiping away her own tears. She turned away and walked across the ramp. That was all of them. Maho took one last look back toward her sister, then followed Noriko. She pulled her papers, Miho's papers, out of her jacket and handed them to the Major.

He looked it over. "Ah, yes. Welcome to the army, Miho Nishizumi."

Maho nodded and stepped onto the ship. From now on, she was Miho Nishizumi.

The ship set off, with family and friends waving farewell to the girls of Ooarai High's Tankery team. As the two ships got farther and farther apart, the people on the school ship got too small to see. Yukari held up a pair of binoculars so she could see them for longer. She had to see them as long as she could. There was an unsettling knot in her stomach that told her she was never going to see them again.

* * *

The trip was tiring, bouncing them from one vehicle to another. They had nothing to do inside the ship, so it was just a bunch of high school girls sitting around with nothing to do. Yukari and Erwin spent their time above deck, but the rest stayed below. When they reached the dock, they were separated from the tanks and ushered onto a bus that took them to an airfield. They were then directed onto a military plane that would take them to Okinawa.

Yukari pointed ahead of them. "It's a Kawasaki C-1." She smiled. "They've been in service for forty years now. I'm glad I get to ride in one before they're replaced by the C-2."

Caesar shouldered her duffel bag. "You're so easy to please, Guderian."

Maho led the way, stepping past them. "Come on. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Strapping in and holding tight to their luggage, they tried their best to make it through the flight to Kadena Air Base. The plane shook the entire way, and none of them managed to keep the time. When they landed and stepped onto the tarmac, all of them exhausted and shaken, they were quickly directed to another plane that would take them to their destination. No one had told them yet where they were ultimately headed.

As they were approaching the second plane, Yukari dashed ahead. "Oh, wow! It's a-"

"Yukarin!" Saori grabbed her collar and pulled her back. "Do you mind?"

Mako grumbled at her. "Tell us what one more plane is and so help me I will make you eat it."

Once they were again loaded onto the plane, and they were in the air, most of them tried to get some sleep. It still wasn't a smooth ride, and only Mako dozed off with ease. Maho could see that Kadotani and Erwin were asleep as well before she drifted away herself.

When Maho woke up, they had landed. The other girls were already up out of their seats and picking up their baggage, with the exception of Mako who was still fast asleep. Maho undid the straps holding her down and stood up. She walked over to Mako and started unstrapping her as well.

Midoriko walked by, clearly dead tired, but still awake enough to fix Mako with a stern glare. "I sure hope this habit of yours doesn't keep up. We can't afford for you to be sleeping in the middle of a battlefield."

Mako responded by continuing to sleep.

With Mako on one arm, Maho grabbed Mako's bag in the other hand and helped both down the ramp. The air was hot and humid outside. They were in some military compound, but all she could see in every direction was military buildings. Walking farther away from the plane, she could see a pair of trucks waiting for them.

Saori and Yukari jumped up onto the first truck, setting their baggage on the floor of the open-top back. They helped Noriko and Hana in, then turned back to see Maho carrying Mako over to them. They grabbed her and hauled her up, setting her down in one of the seats. Maho looked back to see Erwin and her team. Those four didn't need any help up, as they were rather well rested.

Maho looked back to see that everyone else had loaded into the other truck, so she joined Miho's crew. She climbed up and stood in the back, taking a second to look around before sitting down. If she'd spent any longer standing, she would have been thrown from the truck when it started moving. As it was, Saori fell on top of Oryou. She could hear the complaints of the girls in the other truck as well. Mako didn't move an inch.

For the brief moment when she stood up in the truck, Maho had gotten a better view of the base and the surrounding area. The land around them was dry and brown. It looked like a desert to her, but she had no way to tell which one.

"Where's the nearest desert to Japan?"

Oryou looked up, trying to get Saori off of her. "China?"

Saemonza looked thoughtful. "Outer Mongolia?"

Erwin looked between them. "I think that's the Gobi Desert."

Caesar nodded, adding her piece. "I'm pretty sure all of Mongolia is a desert."

Mako woke up, glancing around lazily. "Outer Magnolia? What?"

Yukari looked over the side of the truck, surveying the land around them as they drove through the compound. "It does look like we're in a pretty dry climate, but I don't think it's Mongolia."

Erwin shook her head. "It would have to be, since we weren't in the air nearly long enough to be in Africa. Trust me, I know Africa when I see it."

Hana clapped her hands, almost missing because she was so obviously tired out, but still smiling all the same. "Maybe we're in America! I've always wanted to visit!"

Noriko started counting off on her fingers. "We could be in Mexico, maybe Chile, even Spain… I guess Australia would be a lot closer, though."

"That's right!" Five girls exclaimed as one, pointing at Noriko.

The other four sat back down, leaving Yukari standing in the back of the moving truck. "But… there's no reason for them to be shipping military recruits to Australia."

"Oh my god." They all looked over to see Saori, who had stood up and was looking ahead of them. She pointed at something they could not yet see. "Everyone's here."

Looking out over the sides of the truck, they watched as they passed other trucks that were unloading other girls from other schools' Tankery teams. As they passed by, they caught sight of Darjeeling directing the movements of the girls from Saint Gloriana Girls' Academy. Kay waved at them as they passed the truck unloading girls from Saunders University High School.

Caesar pointed to another group of the trucks. "There's Anzio."

Erwin pointed up ahead of them. "There's Maginot and Pravda. Where's Kuromorimine?"

The trucks pulled to the side, right between Jatkosota High School and Chi-Ha-Tan Academy. They stopped suddenly, causing Saori to hit the back of the cabin. Maho was the first one on the ground. Just as the others started getting out, carrying their baggage with them, a Humvee drove past. An officer standing out the top of the vehicle with a megaphone was barking at all the girls in voice that held no sympathy or humor.

"All new recruits report to the barracks for orientation. You will be assigned your living quarters and daily routine." He just repeated that until he had reached the other end of the long lane of trucks, then turned around and made his way back through them, issuing the order again.

Maho waited for the Ooarai girls to be ready, then headed off. They followed her, walking down the lane towards the barracks. Girls from other schools crowded the way, all of them heading the same direction. In front of the barracks buildings, there was a desk. An officer and several soldiers, all of them large men, waited as the girls formed a line.

Maho reached the front of the line, and the officer held out his hand. "Papers." He had a long day ahead of him, but he didn't sound the least bit bored. He didn't sound like he could become bored. He didn't sound like he knew what being bored meant. It probably wasn't his job to be bored.

Maho handed him her papers, Miho's papers. He stamped them and handed them back.

"Miho Nishizumi. Building three. Here's your schedule." He handed her another paper that detailed where she was supposed to be and when, every day, for the rest of her training. "Next!"

She wasn't the leader of the most prestigious Tankery school in Japan to him. She wasn't a commander here. She was just another face to him. Now she was in his world. Maho was now just another face in a sea of faces, lost in a world that didn't know who she was, what she had accomplished, or where she came from. Now Maho was Miho.


	5. Day 1 In Hell: Dodger's Disappointments

"Top of the morning to you, wankers!"

One hundred new recruits stood in formation early in the morning, lined up in their assigned positions just inside a wide open hangar. A drab-colored jeep drove up and parked in front of the girls in the front right corner of the formation, nearly running over their toes. They were all wearing the olive drab shirts and pants they'd been given to train in.

The person riding in the back of the jeep, held their megaphone to their mouth and leaned down into the face of the nearest girl, who happened to be Mako. "Wake up, fuckface! You're mine for the next six hours, and I don't drive hibernating molluscs! What kind of mollusc are you, mollusc? Answer me!"

Mako was barely awake enough to comprehend the words being thrown at her, but surprisingly managed a lucid response. "I'm sleepy little slug."

"A slug? Holy shit! I bet you smother yourself in vaseline and roll around in the dirt when no one is watching."

"Just the one time."

The megaphone was turned on the girl next to Mako, who had covered her ears to protect them from the noise. "Get your hands off your ears, asshole! What's your name, you degenerate cringing scum?"

Lowering her hands and looking like she was already going to cry, the girl cried out her answer. "Koume Akaboshi, ma'am!"

"Fuck you, Private! I can't pronounce Japanese names! You are now Private Pussy! Meow for me!"

Koume curled her hands in front of her, trying to imitate a cat's paws. "Nya…"

"Cats don't fucking go 'nya', Private Pussy! Private Slug! Put Private Pussy in a headlock until she's meowing properly!"

Still not fully awake, Mako simply did as she was told, wrapping her arm around Koume's neck and pulling her down. Koume struggled against her, but couldn't break free. The two of them stayed like that while the officer jumped out of the jeep and walked over to a position directly in front of the center of the formation.

Holding the megaphone up again, the officer introduced herself. "I am Sergeant Tory Dodger! Anyone who likens me to Sergeant Hartman, Sergeant Johnson, or Sergeant Frog will have their spinal cord ripped out their ass! Is that understood?"

Ninety-nine girls answered as a chorus. "Yes, ma'am!"

Koume choked in Mako's grasp. "Me- ow!"

"That's better! Private Slug, you can let Private Pussy go now!"

Mako let Koume up. "Yes, ma'am."

Sergeant Dodger was short, almost as short as Kadotani, and had a messy mop of blonde hair. She had big blue eyes that would be considered adorable, if it weren't for the fact that they stared death in every direction. She wore a mad grin on her face as she looked out over her new recruits. Dodger stepped forward and started walking between the ranks. No one dared move to watch her, for fear of what she would do if she spotted them.

In the third row back, just to the left of the middle, the Sergeant stopped in front of Maho. "I've seen you on the telly. You must be Maho Nishizumi."

Maho flinched. This was already turning out worse than she thought. "I'm Miho, ma'am."

"Isn't that funny. My papers say you're Miho Nishizumi, and you say you're Miho Nishizumi, but you look like Maho Nishizumi." She aimed her megaphone at Maho's face. "So which one are you? The nazi fascist or the clusterfuck younger sister? I bet you're the clusterfuck! What's with your hair, Private Nishizumi? You look like Justin Bieber! Why do you look like Justin Bieber?"

Maho had no clue who Justin Bieber was. "I… I don't know, ma'am." And apparently she was a fascist somehow.

The Sergeant didn't even answer, instead stomping several rows further back. "Private, are you purposefully _trying_ to piss me off with those melons? How much milk do you drink every day?" She held the megaphone up. "Who the fuck do you think you are, coming into my camp with fucking cantaloupes under your shirt? What's your name, tit monster?"

"Yuzu Koyama, ma'am!"

"Private Koyama, are you aware that your breasts are big enough to ricochet an ICBM?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Bullshit! You're probably the reason Japan wasn't nuked a third time! I bet you're a full time resident of Bikini Atoll! Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the radiation from all the testing is why they're so god damn gigantic! I can't think of an airplane that wouldn't fall out of the sky with those on board!"

The sound of someone laughing drew her away from Yuzu.

"What was that? What the fuck was that? Does someone think I'm funny? Who the fuck is laughing at me?"

Yukari was standing in the back row, watching and hearing everything going on. She saw the Sergeant storming over to a group of three girls four rows ahead of her. She shouted at them, demanding to know their names and promptly rejecting them, handing out new names like slaps to the face. Midoriko had been unfortunate enough to be right beside the girl who laughed, someone Yukari didn't know, and so received her own Sergeant-made name. Being in the very back of the formation turned out to be a blessing for Yukari. Sergeant Dodger seemed disinclined to pay much attention to the back row.

Then she found Katyusha. "What in the hell is that? Did someone let a polyp into my camp? How old are you? Seven? Five?"

The short girl, one of the few shorter than Sergeant Dodger herself, shouted back at her at full volume. "Katyusha is eighteen, ma'am!" Then she met Dodger's eyes. "How old are you, ma'am?"

This only served to infuriate the Sergeant, who proceeded to take it out on all of them. "You should be more concerned with how many pushups you're about to do. All of you, get down and give me two hundred pushups! You don't get up until I think you're done!" She backed away from Katyusha, the two never breaking eye contact, until she was out of the formation. The held up the megaphone again. "I said two hundred pushups! You do know what those are, right? Move it, you sorry excuses for maggots!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

Dodger watched them drop to the ground and try to follow her first order. "You know, most Drill Sergeants are tasked with turning boys into men. I was told I'd have to turn girls into living weapons, but this doesn't look to be the case. No, it appears to me as though I'm supposed to work with fecal matter. Not even human fecal matter. I'm stuck with somewhere close to a hundred pieces of literal dog shit! Such is my life, I suppose, so I'll make the most of it. I have war machines to build, but first I must break down the raw materials into their base elements so that I can remake them in the form I desire. This will be a long and hard process involving much heat, physical stress, pain and agony, and, my personal favorite, cruel violence!"

She stepped over one girl, placing her boot on the girl's back and pushing her down. The girl struggled against the weight, but slowly managed to continue. Dodger leaned into it, putting more weight on her, going silent as she watched the girl struggle more and more. She smiled when the girl finally collapsed, unable to continue.

"A valiant if ultimately futile attempt. What's your name, soldier?" The girl tried in vain to push herself back up. Dodger grabbed her and pushed her face into the dirt. "Stay right there where you belong, worm! Answer the damn question! What's your name?"

The girl spat out some dirt. "Erika… Itsumi… ma'am!"

"Private Itsumi, do you think you're better than everyone else here? Is this a movie to you? Are you a movie star?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Are you a piece of shit, maggot?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Are you a move star?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Do you know how to do pushups, Private Itsumi?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Then why did you stop? Get up and finish your set!" Her head snapped over to look at someone else with a seemingly unnatural speed. "Private Koyama, get your tits off the ground! I don't want to see one speck of dust moved underneath you!" She got up off of Erika, letting her continue, and walked to Yuzu's side. "I don't think you're actually doing anything, Private! I bet you're using your boobs to bounce off the ground! Use your arms, you imbecile! Get your knees off the ground! Pretend like you're giving a blowjob, you look like you've got a lot of practice with that! Suck it all the way in and kiss the ground! I don't want to see anything but your lips touch the ground!"

"I don't understand what you're saying ma'am!"

"Private Koyama, are you incapable of keeping your tits out of the dirt? Stand up, scumbag!" Yuzu, dazed and confused, scrambled to her feet. Dodger aimed the megaphone up at her face. "Take off your shirt and wrap it tightly around your ungodly breasts! Next time, don't show up without something to hold them in!"

She was off in an instant, after someone else, leaving Yuzu to figure out if she really meant it. She decided it was best to do as she was told before failing to follow the order brought the Sergeant's attention back to her. Meanwhile, Sergeant Dodger had found someone else to pick on.

"Who are you and why are your hands so close together?"

"Carpaccio, ma'am!"

"Carp- what? That's not Japanese!" She knelt down and stuck the megaphone in Carpaccio's face. "Oh, I see. You're one of those girls from the schools that hand out retarded nicknames to everyone. I don't care what your real name is, Private! From now on, you are fungus! You are fucking mold! Mildew! Slimy white growth in the corner of a dark room! When I see you again this evening, you had better have your hair cut! How the fuck did you get this far with it so long?"

"Yes, ma'am! I will, ma'am!"

Dodger stood up. "It has come to my attention that you little shits think you know a thing or two about war! Well I'm here to tell you that you don't know a battlefield from a bathroom! You've spent your high school years driving tanks, well guess what? When I was your age I was blasting tanks out of existence from ten thousand feet in the air! You are literally ants to be stepped on to me! I am not your god, as some in my position might say. I am not alpha or omega. I am an eldritch being that can snuff out your lives with less than a thought! Keep that in mind the next time you want to fuck with me! Try to be cute and I will ensure that you wind up simultaneously on both sides of an unbroken wall!"

Most of the girls had been keeping count of their progress. Many of them were exhausted, but didn't want to find out what would happen to them if they stopped. She could tell, of course, if they were keeping count of their progress or not. There were two girls in particular that she noticed were keeping count, but were clearly not aiming for the two hundred she'd called for.

Making her way through the formation, she smacked Nonna on the back of her head. "You're done! Give me one lap around the compound!" She continued, grabbing girls at random and sending them on their laps. None of them had even gotten close to the two hundred, but she could tell they'd be able to finish and didn't want them distracting her from the ones who couldn't cut it. "Private Polyp, you're done! Go! Private Itsumi, Private Nishizumi, you're done! Go!"

She started simply hauling them onto their feet and throwing them in the direction she wanted them to start running. Yukari wasn't even paying attention to where she was when the Sergeant grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her up.

"Are you a killer, Private?"

Yukari wasn't sure how to answer that. Was she being asked if she could kill, or if she ever had? She felt pretty strongly that the answer was no either way. "No, ma'am…"

"What?! I didn't hear you! Speak up!"

"N-no, ma'am!"

"No? You're not a killer? Then what are you doing in the Army?"

"I was drafted, ma'am!"

"Drafted? Are you a conscientious objector?"

Yukari didn't know that either. She didn't even know what war she was being prepared for. "I don't know, ma'am!"

"You don't know? You don't fucking know? What are you, some kind of hero? I bet you think you're a hero!"

"No, ma'am!"

"Run your lap, you god damned weirdo!" She shoved Yukari away, kicking at her to get her moving. "Run like you're being chased by a tidal wave, you fucking oddball!"

Dodger threw more girls into their laps, removing most of them from the formation. There were only seven left when she marched back to Mako kicked her in the stomach, knocking her down. She grabbed her and threw her into the dirt. Mako scrambled back up, but Dodger shoved her down again, pushing her down with her foot.

"Slugs don't run, Private Slug! Do your lap, but I want you to crawl all the way around this compound! Crawl, Private Slug! Crawl!"

Mako responded with a barely audible "Ugh…" but started crawling as ordered.

The Sergeant looked over the six girls remaining. Four of them were the girls she thought were the least capable, but the two in the middle just intrigued her. She couldn't let them know this, of course. They were competing with each other, all the others forgotten, trying to see who could do more pushups faster. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a datapad. The device looked like it belonged in sci-fi, but she'd managed to get a few for the Drill Sergeants at the base. She tapped on the screen, bringing up the info on the two girls. Of course she could have done this for all of them, but she had to find something to yell at them for.

She put the datapad away after reading their files, then leaned down and shouted into her megaphone right between their heads. "Private Hoshino! Private Suzuki! Stand at fucking attention!" They jumped up immediately. "I wasn't counting, so tell me who won."

They glanced at each other briefly, then Suzuki pointed at Hoshino. "Pretty sure she did, ma'am."

"What? How could you let her win? Get down and give me another hundred pushups, loser! I'll start counting when I sit down!" She turned to Hoshino. "So you won, huh? Feel good, winning?"

"…maybe?"

"Maybe? Maybe?! Take some god damned pride in your victory! You fucking won! Do a victory lap! Run! Go! Twice around the compound! Move it!" She sure hoped they were starting to get the sense that there was no winning with her. Standing behind the remaining five, she cracked a crazed grin. Maybe it was the heat that had gotten to her, or maybe she had always been this way. Sergeant Tory Dodger cackled to herself. "I hope you like disappointment, ladies. You're going to be here a very long time."

Halfway around the compound, Nonna and Erwin were at the front of the group. They stopped for a brief moment to catch their breath. Erwin looked over at the gate that was the front entrance to the base. It had a sign beside it that proudly held the name 'Camp Disappointment'.

"Bozhe moi…"

Another girl stopped beside them, taking in the sign. "Yeah, we're in the Outback for sure! Woohoo!" She ran on.

Katyusha bolted past them. "Katyusha will not be defeated by some Koala Forest fink! Get back here!"

Nonna and Erwin looked behind them to see other girls closing the gap. They started running. No one wanted to be the last ones in while Sergeant Dodger was waiting.


	6. Day 1 In Hell: The Long Run

Kadotani sat down between Kawashima and Koyama, setting down her tray and looking over her food. "Excellent! Looks like we have meat chunks, plant chunks, and possibly wheat chunks."

"President, how long are we to endure this?"

"Endure it?" Kadotani laughed. "We're here to stay, Momo. We're not leaving. And I'm not the president anymore."

Yuzu looked down at her breakfast, a horrified look on her face. "Six months of this… why does she have it out for me?"

Maho sat two tables away, as close to the back corner as she could. She had hoped to be alone for a moment while they ate breakfast, but Yukari and Mako quickly found their way to her. They sat on either side of her, both contentedly eating the aforementioned food chunks.

Yukari held one up on the end of her fork, inspecting it. "It's a cube… of bean?"

"It's asparagus." Mako wrinkled her nose at it. "I think."

"Why are you two here?" Maho pushed her untouched meal away from her.

"The Sergeant still has Saori and Suzuki out there, as well as two other girls." Yukari pointed to Hana just as she walked into the mess hall. "And she's been sending anyone whose hair isn't short enough over to get it cut."

After standing in line to get something to eat, Hana made her way to the rest of them and dropped into the seat across from Yukari. Her hair was now the shortest among the four of them, and her eyes looked like the life had been drained out of them. She looked to her friends, as if pleading them for help. "Somebody tell me this is just a bad dream."

"Are we not accommodating enough, Private?" Suddenly, Sergeant Dodger was right beside her. She was without her megaphone, but it sounded like she didn't actually need it. "Do you need a pillow? Maybe some cotton blankets? How about a teddy bear? I can lend you mine if you need it!"

Hana shot up out of her seat. "No ma'am! I'm fine, ma'am!"

"Sit the fuck down, Private! You're still in my morning routine, and that means you finish your damn breakfast! I can't have you collapsing from malnourishment on your first day! I need this to last a long time! It's not fun unless you suffer for days on end!"

She sat down, looking across the table at her friends pleadingly. They looked away, not willing to put themselves in the line of fire. Shakily, she started to eat. It wasn't easy, and not because the food was repulsive. If she ignored the taste, the smell, and the texture, then it wasn't all so bad. The Sergeant breathing down her neck was the problem.

"Hurry up, Private Butterball! You need to be all fed and ready to throw up for this morning's run!" This news carried across the mess hall as fast as Sergeant Dodger's voice. There was a low murmur about the prospect of going on a run immediately after eating. The Sergeant shouted across the room. "And you're all experts at war, are you? The enemy won't attack right after you've eaten on account of you might get cramps! That's right! We're fighting a considerate foe who lets you digest instead of hitting you whenever they damn well please or, fucking shocker, when you're at any disadvantage they can exploit! Chow down and I want to see all of you outside in ten minutes! If you're late, we'll have a boxing lesson instead! Is that understood?"

All the girls tried their best to answer together. "Yes ma'am!" She didn't really care, as she knew half of them had their mouths full. Possibly less than half, considering the food. But it wasn't there to water their mouths and whet their appetites. It was there to get them used to eating military rations. One day, they would learn to look at the raw meat from some animal they caught in the field as a lucky break. She wanted them used to tough living.

Yukari waited for the Sergeant to march out of the mess hall before turning to Maho. "What do you think about her? Sergeant Dodger, I mean."

Maho sighed. She really had wanted to be alone right now. "Private Akiyama. Or is it Private Oddball? I suggest you focus on being not worth her time. Do well, but not well enough to be outstanding. That way she'll have no reason to look at you for more than a second or two."

Mako spat out a plant cube. "Yeah… that's nasty."

Maho shook her head and continued. "I would prefer the three of you kept your distance from me. I don't want to group together, I don't want to make friends, and I certainly don't want to delve into the Sergeant's history. Eat up, and don't sit next to me again."

Mako spat out a meat cube and looked up at Maho. "Wouldn't sitting alone make you a prime target for her?"

"Shut up and eat, Slug. I'll manage."

* * *

None of them wanted to even guess what the temperature was. They ran together through the blazing desert. Though it was hardly together, considering the whole group of them stretched out for half a kilometer from Noriko, who was far ahead, and several girls who were barely able to stagger along at the back. Sergeant Dodger rode around in a jeep, shouting at them all through her megaphone. She was pretty well ignoring the frontrunners for now.

They'd been ordered to stop and wait for everyone else once they reached the flagpole at the halfway point of their run. Maho ran up to the flagpole and stopped. Noriko and Erwin were the only Ooarai girls that had beat her there. Katyusha was there, along with Nonna and Klara. There was also a girl she recognized from Anzio, and one from Koala Forest, but she didn't know either of their names. Coming along behind her, she could see the redhead from Saint Gloriana's, as well as Erika, and Kay and Naomi from Saunders. Saemonza and Hoshino from Ooarai weren't far behind them. The bulk of the girls were in a large group after that, and she could see Yukari at the head of the group.

Dodger's jeep pulled up beside the ones who had reached the checkpoint, and she started yelling at the vast majority that hadn't arrived yet. "Move your fucking asses! I know quadriplegics that could have made it here by now! If you're not all here and standing in formation in a minute and a half, I'm feeding you to the dingoes!"

Sure enough, in the next minute and a half, nearly everyone made it to the flagpole. Saori and Momo were the last two to reach them before the time was up. Dodger turned on the last girl with a fury. She shouted unrepeatable things at Nozomi as she staggered into formation after the time limit. Midoriko shook her head in disappointment, even though she had just barely made it in time herself.

Dodger called Nozomi out of the formation. "Private Konparu! You're disqualified! Go over there and give me two hundred pushups!" She waited for the targeted girl to begin her punishment, then turned back to the others. Ninety-eight remained, waiting for her word. "Alright, you fucking cunts! You have two minutes break! You get a little drink of water and a chance for a ride back to base!"

The male NCO driving the jeep got out and walked around to the back. He stood up on top of the container they had been hauling around and grabbed the hose that was attached to it. The container was full of water. He casually aimed the hose at the girls in formation and turned on the hose, spraying water through the air at their faces. This was met with almost unanimous protest and complaint. Once he was sure he'd hit all of them, totally apathetic to whether or not they actually managed to drink any or if it just went up their noses and messes up their glasses, as was certainly Momo's case, he turned it off and jumped down from the jeep.

Dodger pointed to the NCO standing at attention. "Now that you've all met Corporal Dex, you'll all have a chance to take out your frustrations on him! The first person to land a hit on the Corporal gets a free ride back to base! Any takers?" She looked immediately disappointed that no one was jumping at the opportunity.

It was Rosehip who stepped up first. "I'll give it a shot, ma'am!" Somewhere behind her, Darjeeling facepalmed.

Rosehip readied herself, holding her fists up in front of her like she was boxing. The Corporal just stood there, his hands clasped behind him, unmoving. She stepped forward, aiming a punch straight at the center of his chest. Suddenly, just as her punch was about to connect, he wasn't there anymore. His elbow struck the back of her head, and she fell face-first into the dirt.

Pepperoni, Kay, and Saemonza stepped forward and attacked. None of them were even sure how they suddenly ended up on the ground. Erika tried next, but he sidestepped and sent her flying into the side of the jeep. A few others charged from the formation. He kicked them aside one after the other, finishing off with a roundhouse kick. Turning back to the girls, he found himself staring down at Nonna.

The dark-haired girl seemed much more calm than she should have been. She nodded to him. "Zdravstvuy."

She delivered a punch straight at his chest, just like Rosehip had done. He caught her fist. She tried to hit him with her other hand, but he caught it as well. She struggled for a brief moment, and then he flipped her over onto the ground. The Corporal never said a word. He stood up and turned back to the formation again.

Katyusha shot out of the formation head first, ramming into the Corporal's stomach. He collapsed to his knees, holding his stomach, then keeled over onto his side. Katyusha casually walked away and climbed up onto the jeep.

Dodger glared down at her. "You're going to be a lot of trouble, aren't you."

Katyusha sat in the passenger seat. It was vacant, as Sergeant Dodger was standing on the hood now. She looked up at the Sergeant. "Katyusha will wait here."

Dodger just clicked on the megaphone, aiming it at the girls that were on the ground. "Get up, you lazy pieces of shit! You may have nothing else to do today, but I also run a lemonade stand, cause God knows I don't get paid enough for this bullshit! Get off the ground!"

The Corporal got up and, painfully, sat back down in the driver seat of the jeep. Leaning over the windshield, Dodger nodded to him. He grunted in acknowledgment and drove away, leaving the girls behind.

Once it genuinely didn't look like they were going to head back for the others, Katyusha finally spoke up. "Katyusha is wondering how much trouble you will be in if any of them die."

"Private Polyp, I can't let you idiots die on the first day. I want this to last a long time." She glared back at Katyusha. "Listen, Private. We can get along just fine if you do what I tell you to do and stop showing off. You're not interesting enough, and I got a hundred of you morons to work with. I'll be dividing you up into squads soon enough, and I want to put all the ones I don't have to pay attention to in the same squad. Play along, and you'll be in command of that squad."

Katyusha nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"And not a word of this to any of the others, or you'll be doing pushups all day, every day, for weeks." She turned around, falling silent until the base was in sight again. "Oh yeah, Private Suzuki is still doing pushups. Well, I can't sit down just yet. I have to make sure the obstacle course is ready."


	7. Day 1 In Hell: Dirt

Sergeant Dodger looked up at the clock that was hanging at the back of the hangar. It was just after nine in the morning. She looked down at the ninety-nine girls standing at attention. She walked through them and casually sat down on Suzuki's back. She started counting quietly. She would have left Suzuki to keep doing pushups all morning, but the next exercise needed an even number. The other ninety-nine stood at attention and waited, unable to do anything else.

Suzuki was clearly exhausted, but Dodger could tell she was strong for a girl pulled straight out of high school. The added weight wasn't helping her at all, but she managed to pull through in the end. Dodger patted her rear. "You're done. Time for the next drill."

Suzuki collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Her sweat mixed with the sandy dust on the ground, and a lot of it ended up stuck to her face. As the Sergeant walked away, Suzuki slowly pushed herself back onto her feet. Hoshino reached over and patted her on the arm.

"You gonna be okay?"

Suzuki nodded and answered, out of breath. "Once… I get… something to eat."

"It's three hours to lunch. I'll keep an eye on you, though. You'll be fine."

Suzuki let out a long sigh at the realization that she'd missed breakfast, but she straightened out her back and stood at attention, waiting to find out what they were doing next. She didn't have to wait long, as the Sergeant stood in front of the formation. She held up her megaphone and spoke so that they could all hear her.

"Front row, third row, fifth, seventh, and ninth rows, I want you to lie down on the ground." She waited until they had all followed that order before issuing the next. "Everyone still standing, you are to pick up whoever is in front of you and carry them to the marker." She pointed out in front of them, beyond where they could see. "When you reach the marker, you switch places and come back. Now get a move on! Last pair back loses their lunch! And I don't want to see you carrying them wrong! Over your shoulders! Move it!"

Yukari didn't need much help from her partner, which was Oryou. Yukari has a decent amount of upper body strength to begin with, and Oryou wasn't very heavy anyway. She stood up with Oryou draped across her shoulders and started stepping around the other girls. Most of them hadn't managed to lift their partners yet. Dodger was coming down hard on anyone who attempted to have their partner climb on top of them. Yukari understood why. This exercise was to carry a wounded comrade, and wounded comrades can't necessarily climb onto your back.

Breaking from the formation, Yukari saw only a few others had made it out ahead of her. As could be expected, Nonna was out in front, carrying Katyusha. Many of the stronger girls from Ooarai, who she would have expected to be ahead, were still waiting for their partners to pick them up. Most of the girls whose partners were having trouble lifting them were shouting about missing out on lunch. The loudest shouting was coming from the Anzio girls.

It was pretty clear that no one was going to catch Nonna, but all they had to do was keep out of last. Yukari had run almost a hundred yards when she saw Nonna scaling a hill up ahead. The others ahead of her had difficulty following, and she saw both Darjeeling and Naomi stumble back. Darjeeling almost dropped the Koala Forest girl she was carrying before catching her balance.

Seeing that everyone was slowing down to try and keep steady footing as they ascended the hill, Yukari pushed herself to go faster. They didn't have the momentum to get up while carrying someone. She charged right past the two older girls, storming up the hill and reaching the top. She had to stop there and regain her balance so she wouldn't just fall forward down the other side. Standing on top of the hill, she saw that the downward slope on the other side was steeper and led to a patch of ground that consisted of thick mud. Nonna was down below, stomping through the mud that was up to her knees.

It was Kinuyo, carrying Mako, who made it up the hill next. She stopped short when she saw the path ahead. "…I'm going to jump down, okay?"

Mako grunted. It didn't sound like she was very fond of the drill.

Kinuyo launched herself off the top of the hill and landed in the mud, instantly sinking in up to her waist and falling face first into it. She slowly pushed herself up, Mako still across her shoulders, and pulled herself out of the mud. Yukari just watched as she crawled across the muddy ground on her knees.

Taking a deep breath, Yukari looked ahead. She could see a flag post in the distance. That had to be the marker. She just had to get to it. She shook her head, reminding herself that the army was not a clean life, and jumped into the mud. By the time she had crawled up out of the mud, she could see Katyusha running back, carrying Nonna over her shoulders. She had a hard time believing how easily the tiny Pravda girl carried her famously tall friend.

Oryou poked Yukari's face. "You had to run up the hill. It's steeper on this side, and I'm going be carrying you through this mud. It'll take us long enough without you wasting time."

"I get it." She pushed herself up onto her feet and started the long run the rest of the way. It was shaping up to be a very long day.

* * *

As it turned out, Sergeant Dodger wasn't actually allowed to deny any meals more than once a day. This was great news for Nozomi, who had been part of the last team to return from the drill. After doing pushups for the rest of the morning, as apparently the ones they had done earlier were not scheduled, the girls were finally allowed to use the showers before lunch.

The showers were single-person stalls with only a curtain to pull closed behind you. In the change room next to the showers, Yukari sat down and started untying the laces on her boots. Mako sat down on one side of her, doing the same. Saori sat down on her other side, but instead of mirroring their moves she just leaned on Yukari's shoulder.

"You know, I thought for sure by now we would have met at least a few handsome soldiers. Isn't the army supposed to be full of young men?"

Yukari leaned back so that they were supporting each other while she answered. "The camp is probably just for training Tankery girls. I doubt there are very many men stationed here. Military Police, maybe. Officers."

Mako took off her boots and set them in one of the lockers. She made a distasteful observation as she leaned down to pull off her socks. "There's always Corporal Dex, but he looks a bit too old for you."

Saori sat up straight, as if considering it for a moment. "I mean… and older boyfriend who is a well-established military man. He is an officer, so…"

"Saori? Corporals and sergeants are non-commissioned officers." Yukari shook her head. "It's not the same as a lieutenant or a captain."

"Damn it. You think there would be any of those here?"

Yukari was starting to get the sense that Saori knew next to nothing about how anything in the military worked. She took a deep breath, trying to decide where to start. "There's probably a colonel in charge of the base, but it might not even be a man. If it is a man, he's probably already married. Not to mention most of the armed forces in the world have rules against fraternization between people in the same command."

Mako added, "Plus, he'd probably be fifty. You're technically still only seventeen."

"Ugh…" Saori sat down, defeated in her efforts before they even began. "I don't know what to do with myself."

Mako pulled off her dirty shirt. "I'm taking a shower."

"Yeah." Yukari let out a long sigh, then pulled her shirt off as well. "Shower. I hope there are a few still available."

Just as she said that, Rosehip ran past them into the showers. "Gotta be faster than that if you want to-" As she disappeared through the door, she was cut off by something they couldn't see, followed by several voices shouting over the sound of the running water.

"You idiot! You stepped on Katyusha's soap!"

"Is she okay?"

"Is she alive?"

"Quick! Hide her in one of the stalls! They'll think she just had a heart attack."

"I don't think she's dead."

Yukari stepped into the showers, skirting around Rosehip's motionless form, and ducked into the nearest empty shower stall, pulling the curtain closed behind her. She knew she didn't have to be worried for the girl. She was eighty percent certain Rosehip was fine. …sixty percent.

She stood there with her hand ready to turn on the shower, her mind going somewhere else entirely. Her body was already exhausted, and the day was only half over. There was no telling what was in store for the second half of the day. She had to be prepared for it, but more importantly she had to make sure the others held it together. Saori and Mako seemed like they were handling it all remarkably well, but she didn't know what kind of a facade they had put up. They weren't acting terribly different from what she was used to.

She was worried about Hana. She had started out as optimistic as ever, but that attitude had vanished as soon as her hair was cut. She and Saori had gone through the same haircut under Sergeant Dodger's orders, but Saori didn't seem to be affected by it.

Of course, she was most worried for Maho. She'd gotten to know Miho's sister a little better from the time they worked together against Selection University. She knew the older girl wasn't actually as standoffish as she had acted during the tournament and was acting again now. There was a reason she was acting like that, and it bothered Yukari to not know what that reason was.

She turned on the water, her mind blanking out as she went through the motions of showering. Everything about this place was unfamiliar, and there were all sorts of regulations about how to do just about everything. No one could tell her how to shower, though. It was odd how that was what made the adjustment just a little easier on her. She finished up quickly, wanting to be ready for whatever was next. The moment she pulled the curtain back, someone rushed past her and claimed the stall for themselves.

She got dressed and headed back to the barracks. In the barracks where she had been assigned a bunk, she found mostly girls she didn't know. Maho was there, resting on her bed at the other end from Yukari's. It was going to be hard to talk to her here. The only other person she recognized was Pepperoni, who was in the bed next to hers. The Anzio girl was staring at the wall clock, waiting for the lunch bell.

Yukari decided to talk to her. "I hope lunch is better than breakfast."

Pepperoni sighed. "Funny thing, I enjoyed the taste of one of those things we had for breakfast, but I forget which one. It's been so long, I can't remember what any of them looked like."

"Wow." It occurred to Yukari that she couldn't remember exactly what breakfast looked like either. "I guess it's true that the first day is the hardest."

Erika walked into the barracks and stopped beside them. "The first day is not the hardest. Think of how sore you are right now. Add another half a day to that, and then think about how much it will hurt tomorrow evening when you haven't had the time to properly rest from today."

Pepperoni looked down from the clock. "So which day is the hardest?"

"Probably some day when we're out in the field and we're cornered by gunfire and out of food." Erika cracked a small grin when she saw Pepperoni's eyes widen at the thought of running out of food. "That's where we're headed, you know."

Yukari frowned. "And then someone will say 'at least it's not raining' and it will start raining, but it could easily be worse than that." They both looked at her like they had no idea what she was getting at. She just shrugged. "We're in the army now. There's no guarantee we won't die."

Erika quickly turned away. "You're not wrong, but… but rain is great for lowering visibility. It could easily improve the situation."

"But you can't eat rain."

The lunch bell went off before Erika could respond to Pepperoni's strange observation. She was out the door before a single sound could come out of Erika's mouth. Yukari was up and out the door right behind her. Erika grumbled and followed them, already thinking that the hard part was going to be putting up with them.


	8. The Long Days: Mail Call

The first few days were brutal, getting used to the torturous daily routine. The pushups and the running and the carrying were all just a part of the morning wake-up routine, and Sergeant Dodger wanted them to finish it in four hours so they had more time in the morning to do more running and carrying. The afternoon had obstacle courses and drills that changed every time. Wire nets that they had to climb under that the Sergeant would jump on or kick at to simulate the chaos of the battlefield. There were ropes and nets to climb, walls to scale, and rolling logs to cross.

All this was training. They also had an exercise period in the evening so that their bodies would be properly tuned for war, building their strength and stamina. This included more pushups and jogging, though the girls were all delighted to find that they had access to an actual gym for exercising. The explanation they were given was that it wasn't part of their drills and after the initial warmup each day they would be given the freedom to choose whatever exercise set they wanted.

This freedom proved to be a blessing to Noriko, who spent much of her exercise time playing volleyball by herself. Other girls would join in from time to time, but most wouldn't return the next day. The fact that she could practice her moves was enough to keep her sane. After the first week and a half, Yukari decided to join Noriko regularly. She managed to persuade Saori to join as well, and then recruited Tsuchiya and Rosehip to alternate days, filling out two teams of two.

The afternoon was necessary lessons, all of them sitting in large lecture halls listening to officers explaining military technology or tactics in detail, or teaching them at least passing levels of various languages they might need to know at some point in their future. They were encouraged to drill their language lessons with girls from schools that specialized in whichever language. There was also mathematics, engineering and electronics, and international wartime law. They learned that their academic lessons were a fast route to becoming an officer, a thought that appealed to a number of them.

After the day had ended, the hundreds of exhausted girls headed back to their rooms. Each room housed thirty girls, pieced together from all the training groups of a hundred each. As such, Yukari got to know the girls she shared both a room and a training group with. Pepperoni, Erika, Maho, and Noriko were the ones she could find just about any time of day. Of course, it wasn't as easy as that to find someone to have a decent conversation with.

As soon as she had found the quickest path to becoming an officer, Maho had spent every spare moment in studying. She was very short with everyone, especially the girls from Ooarai as well as Erika. Both Maho and Noriko's beds were at the opposite end of the room from Yukari and Pepperoni. Erika wasn't so far, so she normally joined them in conversations, but Noriko usually got caught up talking with other girls along the way.

Yukari found that Erika was a very disagreeable girl who had a tendency to look down at everyone else. The more time went by and the more she talked to her, the more Yukari realized that Erika was just like that. She didn't have any reasons for it that she could justify, she just did it. But in this crowded and busy base, Erika was rather lonely. No one ever really talked to her, and she was still very much just a girl. Yukari decided to just go with Erika's apparent attitude problem and be a friend to a girl who didn't know how to make friends.

Pepperoni was stranger still. She was restless, excitable, a little dense, and possessed a large appetite. It turned out to be the plant chunks that she enjoyed, though she got used to the meat chunks rather quickly. Yukari had learned, through Sergeant Dodger shouting at them, that Pepperoni was indeed a Japanese girl, but that she hated the way her name sounded and so had gladly adopted the name given to her by her teammates at Anzio. As such, Yukari got an uneasy sense that if she were to dig deeper into this peculiar character, she would find that Pepperoni was much more of a troubled person than she would ever willingly let on.

It was three weeks into their training, Yukari was sitting cross-legged on her bed and talking with her new circle of friends. Noriko had made it over eventually and was occupying the other end of Yukari's bed. Erika was sitting at the foot of Pepperoni's bed, sharing it with its owner. The two Ooarai girls and Erika were wearing their PT clothes, and had been considering heading for their second shower of the day. Most of the girls at the camp had at two showers every day, so it was normal. Pepperoni, on the other hand, had abandoned her shirt and was just lounging in her shorts. She only did this on days when the temperature was more than unreasonably hot, but that meant almost every other day.

"A large pepperoni pizza with me on top." And so their conversation topics seemed to return to the same things again and again.

Erika gave a disgusted look at Pepperoni. "You on top?"

She shrugged. "Eating it, of course."

"That's revolting! You're not even sharing it?"

"Share it? She asked what _I_ wanted the most. I'm not sharing it."

Noriko let out a sigh and turned to Yukari, who was busy trying to enjoy the mundane conversation while it lasted. "What about you? What do you miss the most about home."

Yukari shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I miss my parents, and I miss our school, but… I think the thing I really wish I could do right now is get back in the Panzer IV."

"The tank? You miss your tank?"

"At least that makes some sense." Erika shoved Pepperoni away from her. "This idiot wants food."

Pepperoni shoved her back. "You can't tell me you like the food we get here. I don't think it's all that bad, and I think I'm alone in that, but even I would rather just about anything else."

The door to the room opened, and a Corporal stepped in. She looked around for a moment, then handed a bag to Noriko. "Hand these out." She then turned and left.

Pepperoni sat up and leaned in close to the bag, sniffing it curiously. "Is it eats?"

Noriko was about to open it and look, but then she noticed Pepperoni's face getting too close. She held the bag away from the inquisitive girl, opening it so Yukari could see. "Someone has passed a duty on to me. What is it."

Yukari blinked in surprise at what she was seeing. "It's… letters. I think it's mail from home."

Jumping up, Noriko held the bag aloft. "Mail call! We have mail!" Nearly all the girls in the room got up and started moving to crowd around Noriko, cheering about how they were finally getting letters from home. She held the bag up as high as she could so that everyone could see. "Back to your beds and I'll call out your names and hand them out! If you start rushing like this, some letters might get ruined!"

Slowly, but obediently, they all made their way back to their own bunks. Noriko reached into the mail bag and pulled out the first letter, reading the name on it out loud. The girl who the name belonged to raised her hand. Noriko carried the bag to the middle of the room and handed the letter over to the girl. She reached in again and called out the next name. Continuing this way for as many letters as there were, some of the girls noticed that she skipped over a couple, reading the name silently and putting it back in the bag. The reason for this became clear once she was done and headed back to the group she'd been talking to.

Noriko reached in and pulled out the last three letters. "And these are for us. Yukari, this one's from your parents. Erika, one from your sister. And the last one is mine." Erika let out a defeated sigh and accepted her letter, but Yukari eagerly grabbed hers and opened it. Pepperoni didn't seem bothered by the fact that she hadn't received anything, but then Noriko reached both hands into the bag and pulled out a package. "And this one is addressed to 'Pepperoni-senpai'."

"Holy shit, it is eats!" She snatched the package away, turned around, and opened it. She let out a short sigh, but started laughing all the same. "I was hoping for something more elaborate, but I guess a lot of food we make at Anzio doesn't travel well." She held out the package to show everyone. "It's just bread, but it's _good_ bread."

Erika and Noriko were slowly reaching for the food, unable to control themselves.

Before either of them could get any, Pepperoni stood up and announced to the room. "I've got bread from Anzio for anyone who wants some! I'll pass it out for everyone!"

Yukari, meanwhile, was absorbed in reading her own letter. "Guys, I… I'm not sure what this is… I think it's a joke, but…"

Erika took her letter and looked over it. "There's three pages, but… the first page is addressed to you by name, from your parents, and the other two are addressed to 'big sister'. It's from your little… brother or sister."

Yukari shook her head. "But I don't have any siblings." She took the letter back and read through the second and third pages. At the bottom of the third page was a separate paragraph addressed to her again, definitely in her mother's handwriting. She read over that last paragraph, looking for answers and reading it out loud when she finally found what she was looking for. _"She's staying with us for now."_ She jumped up, surprising Erika and Noriko. "It's for Maho! The last two pages are from Miho!"

Maho, who hadn't received any mail, had heard Yukari's outburst and was already walking over to them. She caught Yukari just as the younger girl was about to run over to her. "My sister is staying with your parents?"

Yukari nodded. "I think so, yeah." She hurriedly handed over the two pages of the letter to Maho. "Right, uh… here. I, um…" She turned around and held the first page up. "I have my own letter to read still."

Maho turned and walked back to her bunk, reading her sister's letter. She was staying with Yukari's parents and had told them what Maho had done for her. Yukari's father was teaching her how to cut hair so she could help around the shop. Miho had taken sole command of the remaining girls from Ooarai's Tankery team, and without tanks they had only one thing to work on. She was doing her best to drill them so that they wouldn't be caught so unprepared when it was the first-years' turn to join them. She emphasized how much she missed everyone, and wished them all the best.

Maho sighed in relief. It sounded like Miho was obeying her command to keep away. Of course she would want the first-years to be prepared, as they would undoubtedly be drafted as soon as possible, and Miho wanted to help them train. Miho had expressly mentioned how she wanted Maho to get along with her friends and look after them. Maho had no intention of letting anything happen to them, but in order to do that she had to become an officer. As an officer, she would have a lot more options available to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a startled yelp from across the room.

Yukari stood up and shouted, clearly alarmed. "My mother is pregnant?!"


	9. The Long Days: Not Combat Engineers

It wasn't like their troubles ended with Sergeant Dodger. She was just one of several personnel on base who were an endless source of grief. There was Corporal Dex, of course, but he was almost always following Dodger around. There were two other sergeants who were like a substitute for Dodger when she wasn't around. On their own, they weren't too bad once you were used to Dodger, but Sergeant Cherub and Sergeant Suou were almost always teaming up on someone. Cherub was the tough one, coming up with ridiculous tasks for them to do, and Suou handled the insults and being loud. Between the two of them, they were almost as bad as Dodger.

Almost.

It was now halfway through their second month, and Yukari was starting to feel like she was building her strength. The first long while was just being sore endlessly, but now she actually felt like she could do some of the things the sergeants made them do. She'd gotten her time on the carry course down to almost twice what Dodger wanted from them, which was a huge improvement from her first time; twelve times the target time.

Of course, now they were doing so many pushups a day she'd stopped counting, and other exercises had multiplied to scale. Every once in a while, though, Dodger would throw something unexpected in their way. One time she made the mud pit deeper and wetter, and so some of the girls sank in up to their necks. Another time, when they were doing situps for Sergeant Cherub, Dodger came out of nowhere and casually stood on Assam's stomach. Apparently, she had mixed her up with Klara, but no one had a clue why she had been trying to single out Klara.

But they'd gotten used to it, for the most part. Unfortunately, Sergeant Dodger seemed to be aware of that, and had set up new difficulties for them to go through. This is how Yukari found herself standing on a wooden platform above a mud pit, facing off with a girl from Koala Forest who she had to assume had a good reason for her nickname to be Mamba. They were supposed to try and knock each other off the platform, clearly, but Yukari had to wonder what chance she had with a girl who was moving like a snake already.

"Hold it!" Dodger had Dex put the ramp back in place. "There's too much room up there! Privates Failure and Tramp, get up there and join them! Look alive! This is a team match and whoever loses misses out on lunch!" That was the usual threat, and she only carried it out sometimes. Sometimes was enough for it to be valid every time. "Tramp and Oddball versus Failure and Slime! Go!"

As Corporal Dex removed the ramp again, Yukari looked over to Kinuyo. Across from them were Mamba and Nozomi. She knew she was Oddball and everyone knew Nozomi was Private Failure, so that meant Kinuyo was now Private Tramp. That didn't seem quite right.

Corporal Dex blew his whistle. They had maybe half a minute to throw the other team off before Dodger would start throwing things at them. Yukari had a tactic in mind, a plan. If the other team went off, then so be it, but she just needed to keep Kinuyo up with her for a half minute or so. When Dodger started throwing things, she'd aim for Nozomi first. This was just to be expected. Then, when Nozomi failed, they could team up against Mamba and win. It was unfortunate about their lunch, but someone had to lose.

This well thought out plan was lost to the wind immediately as Mamba dropped onto her back and kicked up into the air, hitting Kinuyo in the chest and sending her flying. Mamba spun, righted herself, and then came for Yukari. It was the first time Yukari had ever seen a roundhouse kick in person. With her opponent's foot coming straight for the side of her head, Yukari decided that this was the time to break out a secret ability.

Her only ability worth noting was loading the main cannon of a tank, but that was enough to be helpful. She imagined Mamba's chest was the chamber that she was punching the shell into. She ducked under Mamba's foot at the last second and lunged forward, slamming her fist into the other girl's chest. Mamba flew back and bounced off the platform before falling into the soggy mud head first.

Yukari turned to Nozomi. "So… are you going to make this hard, or…?"

"Get a move on! You're supposed to fight each other!" A shoe hit Yukari's back. Dodger wound up to throw another one. They weren't even military issue. It looked like she'd really just gone and collected a bag full of old shoes to throw at them. "If neither of you finish the fight in the next ten seconds, no one gets lunch! No one! On! Earth!"

That was too ridiculous of a threat. Yukari had to assume it was legitimate. She grabbed Nozomi. "Sorry. Billions of lives are depending on me." Nozomi screamed as she was rather effortlessly tossed off the platform. Yukari turned to the sergeant and bowed.

"Smartass." Dodger waved at Corporal Dex and he moved the ramp back into place. She looked over the few trainees that weren't yet covered in mud. "Form your own teams and finish the exercise. Everyone who's done, do laps around the camp until lunch. Private Oddball, come with me."

"Yes ma'am!" Yukari hopped down, sinking into the mud a couple inches. She pulled herself out and followed as the sergeant led her away from the rest. They came to a stop just around the corner of the nearest building, perfectly out of sight so Dodger could dispose of the body. Yukari was somewhat sure that wouldn't happen.

Dodger glared up at her with something between contempt and pity. "Private, are you eager to move on? Get through your training and head out to war?"

Yukari thought it was an odd question, but not one she couldn't answer truthfully. "Ma'am, isn't this supposed to be the rest stop on the way to the war?"

Dodger was neutral on that answer. "So it is." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "You see that jeep? It's the major's. I want to see it appear in his office by the time he gets back. You have two hours to get it apart, move it in, and reassemble it. If he catches you, he'll likely have you locked up. You don't want to know what I'll do if you fail."

Yukari waited until the sergeant had left. She looked up at the jeep in front of her. It would have been easier if Dodger just killed her. "Ah, shit."

Wherever Sergeant Dodger went, it wasn't back to the girls fighting on the platform. The entire setup had been haphazard to start with, so it made sense she would just want to abandon it. This was to Yukari's advantage. She ran over to the last four girls, hoping she could enlist their help. Tsuchiya, Rosehip, Klara, and Nakajima.

She stopped beside Tsuchiya. Casually waiting a moment before talking. She didn't want to attract the attention of Corporal Dex, so she leaned over and whispered. "I need your help with something."

"I can hear you, Private!" Corporal Dex turned to face them. "What is it you need them for that's so important they have to skip this exercise?" His face was like a rock. Not even chiseled rock. Just a lump of unforgiving stone.

Yukari stood straight and nodded. "Yes sir, Sergeant Dodger gave me orders, and I need their assistance to complete those orders."

He didn't look convinced. "Did she tell you to do it on your own?"  
Yukari shook her head. "The sergeant didn't specify. Just that she wanted it done, sir."

Tsuchiya jumped in. "I volunteer to stay behind and complete the exercise for everyone else!"

Dex looked very unconvinced, but still he relented. "Fine." He rolled up his sleeves. "Private Tsuchiya, you'll most certainly wish you hadn't. The rest of you get a move on. We wouldn't want to upset the sergeant."

Yukari nodded. "Yes sir!" She waved the others over. "We're short on time! Let's move!"

Rosehip patted Tsuchiya on the shoulder as she ran past. "I'll visit you in the hospital, I promise."

Nakajima added, "And I'll say something really nice at your funeral."

Twenty seconds later, the three girls Yukari had recruited were staring in disbelief at the jeep. Yukari sat down on the hood and patted the side of the vehicle. "We have two hours to take it apart and put it back together again inside the major's office."

Nakajima shook her head several times, trying in vain to fix her hearing. "You've got to be kidding me, right? We'll be shot."

Klara said something in Russian, which Yukari suspected was highly impolite, then pointed to the nearby building where the office in question waited. "There are at least a dozen more people in that building we would have to carry it past. MP's, secretaries, other officers. They'll notice four privates carting around jeep parts."

"What about through the window." Yukari looked at the wall facing them. "That window is the major's office, right?"

Klara shook her head. "Alright, let me get a good look at this." She stood back and looked over the jeep, then ran to the window and looked into the office. After a short moment, she ran back. "The office is big enough to fit the jeep inside, but the window is not. There are several parts we'd never get through."

"Who says we have to take it apart?" The rest of them looked to Nakajima. She shrugged. "I mean, we could, but what if we just took off the wall and carried it in?"

Rosehip pumped her fist. "I could just drive it in! I could easily hot-wire it and patch it back up so it looked like it was never touched."

Yukari clapped her hands together. "Alright, that's our plan. Let's get to work."

* * *

The plan had gone off without a hitch. They spend most of their two hours removing the wall panel that covered the entire side of the building. An unaware lieutenant briefly questioned them, but between how much they managed to look like they knew what they were doing and their insistence that they were merely following orders, he decided they must be administering repairs to the building. They then removed everything out of the room in question. Klara and Yukari ran a ramp up to the floor, and Rosehip drove the jeep in. She took several minutes to fine-tune the position, and they placed everything that could still fit back where it was. The hardest part was really putting the wall back on the building, but they managed with all four of them lifting it together. With their mission accomplished, the four girls dropped to the ground to look at their work.

Klara fell onto her back and just lay there. "I gave my life for this army."

Rosehip grabbed the front of her shirt and started airing it out, as it was clinging to her with all the sweat. "I need a shower. I'm not cut out for heavy lifting. I can run, drive, and shoot."

Yukari stood up again, turning to the one thing they couldn't fit back into the room with the jeep; the major's desk. "Where are we going to put this?" According to the clock on the desk, they had completed their task with five minutes to spare. The desk was the last part. However, according to something else on the desk… Yukari went very pale suddenly. "Guys? This nameplate says _Colonel_."

Klara and Nakajima shot up, staring at the nameplate. Klara swore in Russian again. Nakajima staggered back and fell to the ground. They were out of time, and they'd just put the major's jeep in the colonel's office.

Rosehip lay down, continuing to air out her shirt. "We're in the army, so we're all gonna die anyway. I say fuck it."


	10. The Long Days: Human Hearts

It was now more than three months into their training.

Yukari stood off to the side, spotting for Maho who was bench pressing a hundred and twenty pounds. Most of the girls in their group could match that amount, with a few exceptions on either side. Yukari was also waiting her turn, with another forty pounds sitting on the floor that she planned to add. She had put it on Maho once, which had not been appreciated in the least.

Yukari had herself always been fairly strong, but she was starting to realize that she had never really trained her body for it. Looking at Maho as an example, she could see how all of them had built up a fair amount of muscle. Four months ago they had all been squishy school girls, all of them marginally fit because of what they did for Tankery, but it was never really working out.

Almost as if reading her mind, Saori called Yukari's attention. "Hey, Yukarin! Look at me!" When Yukari looked at her, Saori flexed her arm muscles. She was immensely proud of the fact that hers were more visible than the rest of Anglerfish Team. Yukari had to admit that Saori looked quite fearsome with that look of confidence on her face and while dressed in her workout clothes. She didn't have to admit it out loud, though.

"Akiyama!" Yukari looked down to see Maho struggling. "Get the damn weight!"

Yukari grabbed the bar and lifted it off of Maho. "Sorry."

Maho jumped up, grabbing her towel and walking away. "Get your own spotter. I'm done."

"Hey now, we had an agreement."

Maho turned back to face her. "Yeah, and I'm done with it. Every single day, you find something new to get distracted by. I'm going to find a different spotter, and so can you." She left without giving Yukari a chance to respond.

Shaking her head, Yukari picked up the extra weights and started loading them onto the bar. A moment later, Erika walked up to her. Yukari waved. "I need a spotter. You got time?"

Erika grumbled about it, but stepped around behind the bench. "Nishizumi just asked me the same thing. She said you kept fucking up. Nearly left her to choke herself."

Yukari lay down on the bench. She let out a long sigh. "Well… I don't know that I would use language quite that strong. I messed up. Might go so far as to say I screwed up, but that's all."

"Uh huh… and you weren't gazing longingly at your friend's body?"

"What? No." She reached up and lifted the weight. "Did Maho really say that?"

"Not those words exactly, but I'm an expert at translating what she says into what she means. She holds back a lot, you know."

"Didn't really sound like she was holding back."

Erika smiled. It wasn't the comforting sort of smile. "Trust me, if she said everything she was thinking, we'd be cleaning you off the wall."

"I doubt it's that bad."

"Which one of us has spent years following her around?" Erika gave Yukari only two seconds before continuing. "Exactly. I know what I'm talking about."

* * *

Caesar had made an effort to get to know everyone around her place in the formation when they were training, as well as everyone in the beds around hers in the barracks. They were mostly talkative girls, and she got along well enough with all of them. Klara and an Anzio girl called Tortellini were the ones that responded the best to her conversation, but neither of them were in her room. The last girl she had to talk to in either place was also the only one who was in both.

All the girls around them were preparing for bed, and Caesar approached this last girl. The girl looked up at her. She didn't say anything and quickly went back to reading her book. Caesar stood there for a moment, discomfort creeping up on her. She decided to say something before it was too late.

She held out her hand. "Takako Suzuki. My friends call me Caesar."

The girl looked up again. "If that's required then let's not be friends, Private Suzuki."

"Er, yeah… right. My team calls me Caesar, then. I mean, we've got another Suzuki, so…"

"Well, I don't talk to her." She put down her book and shook Caesar's hand. "I'll call you Suzuki. Call me Beau."

"Ah! Are you from BC Freedom or Maginot?" She briefly felt smart for recognizing that it was French.

Beau shook her head. "I went to St. Gloriana. They called me Lime. I was a driver in a Crusader and briefly a gunner in a Matilda. I didn't get put on the field very often, though. And Beau is my real name."

"Oh." Now she felt extra stupid. "So you're actually from France?"

"Northern France, specifically."

"Nice." It was a dead-end conversation so far. "So, um… what are you reading?"

She held the book up so she could see. It was a copy of the _Carmina Burana_. "Just something to help me relax."

"I see." She didn't want to lose this conversation, but there was nothing more to add. Unless she could find something really quick. "Well, at least we get to do something we enjoy once we're done training, right?"

Beau closed her book. "When I transferred into St. Gloriana, I tried my best to avoid standing out. I didn't want to get involved in any of the tank battling we did. I was happy with my place. I'll do what I have to, but I don't intend to spend any more time here than I need to."

"Oh. I'm… sorry to hear that."

"Don't be sorry for me, Suzuki. You're the one who wants to be called Caesar." She stood up, leaving her book on her bed. "I don't mean anything by it, but if I were you I'd be wondering which one of my friends is Brutus."

Caesar watched the girl walk away. She shook her head and went back to her bed. "Caesar was killed by senators…" She sighed. "History amateurs."

* * *

Saturday night was movie night, and every once in a while it was a movie some of the girls enjoyed watching. Maho avoided it altogether, preferring to spend that time studying. On the other end of the spectrum was Mako, who had attended every movie and not watched a single one. They had a running tally on which movies everyone thought were the best they'd seen here. Erika was rating each and every movie as worse than the last.

Today it was _Piran_ _h_ _a 3D_. It was like the person choosing these movies knew nothing about movies at all. Leopon Team had shown up together, all of them totally oblivious to what they were about to see. Tsuchiya and Suzuki clung to each other, the former couldn't handle the gore and the latter was deathly afraid of piranhas. Nakajima was trying to put on a bold face, but jumped at every point where anything happened, and Hoshino had already glazed over and was completely out of it.

Erika sat at the front, with her head in her hands and her inner movie critic enduring endless torture. Mako slept peacefully beside her, not a care in the world. Elsewhere, Erwin was ducked down in her seat and just hoping no one she knew would see her in the room. Pepperoni was eating, with no clear answer to the question of where she got lasagna.

When the movie finally ended and the screen shut off, about a dozen girls got up and left immediately, Erwin shuffling off in the crowd to avoid being seen. Yukari and Caesar, who had decided to attend a movie for the first time, sat next to each other in a cold sweat. This was anything but what they'd been expecting and hoping to see. Erika was right.

As it turned out, the responsibility of choosing the movies to be played had been given to one of the privates training at the camp. She stood at the head of the remaining audience with a paper in her hand and a smile on her face like she'd just won an argument with them all. She cleared her throat and made her announcement.

"Katyusha has decided that next Saturday you will watch _The Room_ , starring Tommy Wiseau. I expect to see you all there." Katyusha turned and marched out of the room.

Erika leaned back in her chair. "Why me? What have I done to deserve this?"

Getting up from the perpetual face-palm she'd been in for the past hour and a half, Kay headed for the door, muttering under her breath. "Now I know why people drink."

Hoshino stood up next, turning to look around the room. "Well, jokes on her. I actually like The Room."

Tsuchiya finally pried Suzuki off of her and climbed over Nakajima to escape. "I need air!"

Suzuki was left curled up into a ball in her seat. "I'm never going swimming again. I'm never taking a bath or a shower ever again. I'm never _drinking water_ again."

Nakajima looked at the back of the room, where Pepperoni had finished her lasagna and was just now eating the last slice of pizza. She froze when she saw Nakajima staring at her. She had to ask. "How can you possibly eat with _that_ in front of you?"

Pepperoni shrugged. "Have you ever been in a meat shop? There are fruit more disgusting than that movie, and I've eaten them."

One by one, they filed out, leaving Yukari and Caesar alone.

Yukari stood up finally. "You know, I think we might not be old enough to actually be allowed to watch that movie."

"Oh, absolutely." Caesar stood up as well. "We're out of here in a little over two months, so we could totally die before we're old enough to watch that."

"Actually, my birthday's in June."

"Alright, granny, calm down."

Yukari suddenly backpedaled. "Hold on, we should wake up Mako." She walked around the rows of seats to the front where her friend was resting and gently shook her awake. "Hey. Movie's over."

Mako blinked her eyes open and stared blankly up at Yukari for a while before getting up and stretching. "Good movie. Eight point five out of ten. What's next week?"

Yukari frowned. "Something called _The Room_."

Mako looked interested. "Really? That's good. Nothing happens in that one."

"Well… let's get to bed. Something's changing in our schedule tomorrow morning."

"Bed, yes. I am… very tired."

* * *

"You know, when I heard the schedule was changing, I thought 'Oh, that's cool, maybe we won't have so many pushups before breakfast.'. I didn't think this was what they meant."

Saori pulled her helmet further down on her face, protecting her eyes as best she could from flying flecks of dirt and gravel. "Really?"

She had to shout over the sounds of the first tanks they'd seen since arriving in Australia, buried air cannons launching debris into the sky, mortars and machine guns firing blanks, and the occasional very real round and subsequent explosion from the main cannons of the M103's.

Saori crawled a few feet under the barbed wire, keeping her rifle of the ground, all the while happily chatting away with Yuzu. "I think of it this way; we're not doing pushups. We're not running. It's still exercise, but crawling is literally the easiest thing to do ever." She rolled onto her side to shield her rifle from a shower of dirt, looking back at Yuzu. "Plus, we can't hear Sergeant Dodger shouting at us."

As if to answer her directly, Sergeant Dodger's voice boomed out through the megaphone. It was still barely audible. "Oddball, stop staring at the hardware! Polyp, don't abandon your squad! Polyp's squad, get the fucking move on! Slug, stop mimicking everything I say! Koyama, you suck!"

"That's it." Yuzu stood up in the middle of the barbed wire, which was only plastic but still sharp and tangley. "Sergeant, ma'am! You suck!" She then emptied a full clip of empty clicks from her rifle straight at the sergeant.

"Private!" Dodger glared solar flares at her. "You just fucked up bigly." She leveled the rifle she was carrying at Yuzu and held the trigger down, expending all the blanks in the clip. Unlike the disappointing clicks Yuzu got, Dodger's were explosive gunshot sounds that carried no actual physical threat to someone several meters away.

Yuzu ducked anyway, getting caught in the wires. The sudden stinging of the prickly plastic barbs combined with the gunshot sounds caused her mind to jump to the conclusion that she was actually being shot, and she began to flail and panic even more, getting more tangled and continuing the process until she was no longer able to move.

Dodger stepped through the barbed wire without touching it once and stood over Yuzu's prone form. The humiliated private whimpered in fear. Yellow eyes stared down at Yuzu like she was a rabbit caught in the thicket, and Dodger was the bird of prey.

"Private, since I'm fairly certain you knew your gun was empty, I'm not going to report this. But the next time you want to take a shot at me, with your fists or your gun or whatever, you had better be willing to finish the fight."

Strangely, the only thing Yuzu could think of as she nodded stupidly, was that she was pretty sure the sergeant's eyes had always been blue.


	11. Sixth Of June: Overlord

Night had long fallen. The girls lay in their beds, sleeping peacefully, with only a few exceptions. Erwin sat up in her bed, unable to get to sleep with something occupying her mind. Similarly, Saemonza was kept up by strange sounds she was sure she could hear outside. Momo had simply made the mistake of attending Katyusha's showing of _Birdemic_.

Maho was sleeping, but not so peacefully. Inside her dream, she could see the scorching sun and the dry expanse of the desert. She was back in her Tiger, racing toward the enemy on the battlefield. But this wasn't a Tankery match. This was war. It felt so real, but something just wasn't right. When she looked to her side, she saw her sister. Miho was right there, commanding her own Tiger again. That was wrong. Miho wasn't supposed to be here, in this war. Suddenly, the sound of incoming artillery filled the air, and then it struck her sister's Tiger.

Maho woke up, drenched in cold sweat, in the midst of panicked cries and shouting. An explosion rocked the barracks building. Something heavy bounced off the barracks roof, and another explosion went off just outside the window. The glass shattered and sprayed into the room, showering several girls with broken glass and dirt.

Maho reached down beside her bed and grabbed her boots, making sure they were empty of glass before putting them on and lacing them up. Her feet hit the ground, and the dream was forgotten. This had to be another drill, but she couldn't be sure, and even if it was, the point of the drill was probably to do what they would do if it weren't a drill.

She shouted over all the noise. "We need to get out of here! Get your boots on and move it!"

A Maginot girl who occupied the bed next to hers was in the middle of putting her shirt on over her tanktop. She shouted back. "We need to get dressed and go!"

Maho had slept in her training clothes, and had no sympathy or time for those who hadn't. "Socks and boots, damn the rest! Move your rears to the door!" She shoved the girl ahead of her. "Go!"

When she reached the other end of the room, outright dragging some girls in the right direction until they figured it out for themselves, she saw Noriko ushering girls out into the hall. Pepperoni was standing up on her bed, directing traffic and hollering orders. It seemed they knew exactly what to do, as the latter had even managed to get herself fully dressed in record time. Yukari was out in the hall, making sure everyone was keeping together.

Then there was Erika, running around like a headless chicken, trying to find her shirt. Maho grabbed her, turned her around, and forced her towards the door. They didn't have time for this. She shoved Erika out the door ahead of her. Pepperoni hopped down and ran out, followed by Noriko. Maho was the last one out, so she did a quick sweep of the room to make sure no one was left behind.

Dodger's voice reached her from somewhere outside, and she realized it had been Dodger on the roof. The sergeant's voice boomed around them. " _Get your fucking asses out the door! Form up and get your rifles at the gate!_ "

Maho ran out into the hall, turning the corner to where her roommates were waiting just inside the door. "Move it! You heard the sergeant! Go! Go! Go! Form up with your training groups!"

They ran out, pushing their way through the doors. During the rush, Maho looked behind her and saw Sergeant Cherub walk into their room. A moment later when she walked back out again, there was an explosion that sent the doors flying outward. Maho was sure now that this was a drill, but it was going to be a bother that their beds had all been blown up.

Only the five of them were left inside now. Maho found that the other four were looking to her, so she had to make the call. "We need to meet up with everyone else. Grab them if you see them. We're not leaving without all one hundred of us."

As they ran out the door, Pepperoni started laughing. "I just realized… Erika, I think I'm wearing your shirt."

"Damn it! Give it back!"

"What am I supposed to wear then?"

"Wear a pizza for all I care! Just give me my shirt back!"

They slammed into the side of a building, taking cover from a number of mines that were set off. The drill instructors were hidden all around them, setting off the mines they'd spent all night placing whenever they were sure no one was going to be caught in the explosion. A moment later, Katyusha joined them, with several Anzio girls trailing behind her and Hoshino bringing up the rear.

Erika punched Pepperoni's shoulder. "Give me my shirt back now!"

Pepperoni started taking the shirt off. She was still wearing her own tanktop underneath. She handed it back to Erika. "I noticed it cause it looked a little stretched out in the chest area."

Erika took it and put it on, properly filling out the stretched area. Her face was visibly red even in the darkness. "I'll stretch you out, you little-"

"Little? I _almost_ filled it."

"Katyusha does not appreciate this topic!"

Maho backhanded the back of Erika's head. "Keep your head together!" She pointed to Pepperoni. "Wisen up or your next!" She turned to Katyusha. "Did you see any of the others on your way here?"

She nodded. "Katyusha saw Private Slug being carried by Darjeeling. They're a ways behind us."

Yukari looked up at the night sky. "Geez, what time even is it? Does anyone have a watch?"

Katyusha held up her wrist, showing off her watch. "Katyusha is always prepared."

"Oh, good, what time is it?"

"It's night. Katyusha can't see shit."

Maho stood up and pulled Rosehip and Koume over to the wall. She glared at Yukari. "Why do you need to know what time it is?"

Several mines went off about twenty meters away from them. Once the shower of dirt was finished, Yukari reached over and brushed debris from Erika's head. When Erika batted her away, she just shuffled around her and sat next to Katyusha. "Because it's June, and either it's still the fifth or it's the sixth. I just want to know if it's my birthday yet."

Rosehip turned on her torch. "Good thing I always come prepared!"

Katyusha scowled at her. "You don't have a watch."

Another explosions went off just around the corner of the building they were hiding alongside. Yukari grabbed Rosehip's torch and pointed it at Katyusha's wrist. "A-ha! It's two in the morning! It's my birthday! I'm eighteen!"

Caesar slid in beside her, like she was playing baseball, having arrived just in time to hear the news. "Awesome. Now you're old enough to watch _Piranha 3D_. What a milestone."

"Well, when you put it that way, now it sounds bad."

Maho gave Yukari a light smack on the back of her head, then turned to Caesar. "Did you get anyone else along the way?"

Caesar pointed behind her. "Yeah, Beau, er, Lime, I guess."

As more of their group found them and collected together, it became difficult to take shelter from the simulated attacks. Maho did a head count as best she could, and then went over it again. Reaching the same number, she decided it was close enough to correct. That meant there were still seven girls missing, including Nonna and Kadotani. She couldn't imagine what was keeping those two, but they needed to start moving.

Darjeeling set down Mako, who'd finally woken up properly. She called over the crowd's heads, keeping her voice calm and level. "Alright, ladies. Let's move out. Our superiors likely wish us to cover a lot of ground tonight, so let's not keep them waiting. Rosehip, lead us out."

"Yes ma'am!" Rosehip jumped up. "Vanilla, Cranberry, take point!" The two Crusader commanders ran ahead, with Rosehip shortly behind them. The rest followed after her.

The scouts returned quickly, reporting to Rosehip. Vanilla spoke first. "There are a couple sergeants at the gate with some trucks. They're handing out rifles and sending us to the lake."

Cranberry added her piece. "It looks like they've set up a course for us to traverse on the way to the lake. It'll be hard going."

Rosehip looked to Darjeeling, who just nodded. She grinned. "Full speed ahead, then! Get your rifles and go!"

Running around to the front of the group, Kay shouted over the thundering din of the guns. "Partner up! Buddy system! Don't lose track of your partner!"

Dodger watched her training group form up and move for the gate. They were doing well. They weren't the first group to reach the gate, by far, but they were the most complete group. Of course, she understood that she was training the leaders of the most successful Tankery teams. Girls who wouldn't have been put in those positions if they didn't have any potential. They still had a long way to go, but it looked like they were going to make it.

She dropped down to the ground, shouldering the sledgehammer she'd been using on their roofs to wake them. It was time to round up the few strays. When she heard a thundering sound that wasn't any sort of weaponry, she looked up at the sky. There was a dark flash hidden in the clouds, followed by another thunderous boom. The weather was taking a turn for the worse. She smiled at this fortuitous meteorological shift.

"Thank you God." This would make the course she'd designed so much harder for them.

She spotted Nonna leading four other girls across to the rest of her group. Kadotani was rushing to join them as well, but coming from a completely different direction. The redhead was carrying Nozomi on her back, after the younger girl had fallen and twisted her ankle. Dodger wasn't going to impede them, but Nonna's group was fair game.

She casually stepped over to a nearby watchtower and held her radio up to her mouth. "Anybody in watchtower four?"

After a couple seconds, Cherub's voice came back. " _Negative. It's empty. Why?_ "

"You'll see. Or… hear." She brought up her sledgehammer and swung it at the base of the tower, knocking two of the supports out from under it. Stepping back, she called out to Nonna. "TIMBER!"

Nonna looked up to see the tower falling towards her. She turned around, pushing the others back as well. "Get back! Take cover!" The tower crashed to the ground, and just like that their path to the gate was blocked. Nonna looked over the new obstacle that could have easily crushed her to death. "Blyad'! We can't climb over." She immediately directed them around to where the base of the tower had been.

The five girls skidded to a halt when they were faced with the sight of Sergeant Dodger, holding in her hands a sledgehammer that was almost as big as her, standing next to the base of the tower. Thunder crashed around them, and they could see the lightning in the distance behind Dodger. The clouds started pelting them with cold rain.

"That's right, Private. You may go… _if you can get past me_."

Nonna was going to backtrack and go around the other way, but the girls around her lunged forward. These girls weren't weak or careless. None of them were quite as strong or tall as Nonna, but they each had the respect of their own teams. None of the five of them had Dodger's respect yet. That was something they'd have to work to earn.

Neko and Eclair rushed ahead first, the former bolting around Dodger's right and the latter skirting around her left. Dodger knew better than to swing the head of the hammer at her trainees, especially with all her strength, but they could certainly run into it. She _put_ the hammer's head in Eclair's way, and she ran into it. She doubled over, holding her middle, then collapsed onto her side. Spinning around, Dodger knocked Neko's feet out from under her with the handle.

Nonna took a step back. "We'll need to work together to-"

A Koala Forest girl named Komodo rushed Dodger head on. The sergeant held her hammer out, catching her attacker in the chest and knocking her onto her back. Bordeaux had attempted to run past while the sergeant was distracted. Dodger hooked the hammer's head on her foot, causing her to fall flat on her face.

Shouldering the hammer again, Dodger looked at the last girl standing. "Retreat or dismemberment? Your pick, Private."

"I choose…" Nonna put one foot in front of the other. "Victory for Pravda! Victory for Katyusha!"

Dodger swung the hammer at the ground, smashing it apart and sending dirt and gravel into the air. While Nonna had to shield her eyes from the onslaught, Dodger set off an air cannon she'd buried in the ground, sending more dirt and dust up into Nonna's face and pushing her back. When the dust had cleared, Dodger was gone and her hammer was left sticking up out of the ground. The others pulled themselves to their feet, also looking around for their dangerous instructor.

Dodger reappeared, slamming her boot into Bordeaux's back and sending her flying into Eclair. Nonna saw her heading for Neko and put herself in the way, grabbing the sergeant's fist. Dodger's tiny frame hit with such force that she rammed Nonna into the wall of the collapsed watchtower, but Nonna held on.

She called out to the others. "Go on! Rejoin the group! I'll keep her here!" They didn't need her to say it a second time, all of them turning and running.

Immediately, Dodger pushed off the wall and flipped Nonna over her head, slamming her into the ground and breaking her hold. Dodger stood over her and grinned. "Not strong enough to power through me, but I'll accept your solution. Get on and join them."


	12. Sixth Of June: Mud, Blood

**Note: Not properly proofread as of yet.**

* * *

"Really?"

Yukari nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, really!"

Saori took a deep breath, let it out, and continued walking through the long trench. It was now a little after three in the morning, and the drill was still running. Apparently, this trench was part of the course Sergeant Dodger had set up for them on the way to the lake. Only part of it, though. And since it was pouring rain, the trench was flooded.

Hana tried her best to force a smile. "Congratulations, Yukari."

Saori finally nodded. "Yes. It's a milestone in life."

Katyusha's rifle poked Yukari in the arm. The shorter girl quickly climbed up Yukari's back and audibly gasped. "Katyusha can't breath down there!"

"And Yukari can't move anymore!" Yukari shouted at her. "Get off! Get off!"

"If Katyusha falls in the mud it'll be your fault when Katyusha's gun gets dirty! These should all be AK-47's anyway!"

"I'm an adult now! I don't have to do what you tell me!"

"Katyusha just needs to use you to find Nonna!"

"My body my choice! Get the fuck off!"

Dodger appeared above her. "Your body belongs to the Army now! Quit bitching and get a move on!" She looked at Katyusha, as if just now realizing she was on Yukari's back. "Can you not swim, Private?"

Katyusha shouted back. "Not without getting Katyusha's rifle wet, ma'am!"

As if on cue, Nonna ran up to them. She sloshed through the muddy water until she could pick Katyusha off of Yukari's back. "Sorry I took so long."

Dodger frowned, but it was directed at Katyusha. "What will you do when she's not there?"

Placing Katyusha up on her shoulders, Nonna answered for both of them. "I will always be there for Katyusha."

As this was going on, Hana led her friends further down the muddy trail. Once they were far enough away to have their own conversation again, Hana turned around and pointed at Yukari. "Don't think I didn't catch that, by the way."

"Catch what?"

Saori elbowed her. "You were swearing." Hana nodded in confirmation.

Yukari looked between them in disbelief. "Was I? Sorry, I guess it just slipped out."

"Well, I won't allow it." Hana continued, leading them further. "Not in my tank, not while I'm in charge."

"Wait, since when are you in charge?" Saori and Yukari chorused together.

"Since we were without a tank commander. Someone needs to take charge."

Yukari dashed ahead as best she could in the deep muddy water. "Hold on. I'm the oldest, so I should be in charge."

"Wait, what?" Saori stormed past them. "I thought I was the oldest."

"I just turned eighteen. Are you eighteen?"

Saori stopped and thought about it. "Huh? When did your birthday move? I was older last year."

"That's not how it works." Maho bumped into Saori from behind. "All of you get a move on."

Saori glared back at her. "I'm sorry, are you part of our team?"

"My papers say I'm the leader of your team." Saori was stunned into silence, so Maho walked past her. "My sister told me to keep the four of you safe, so I'm going to do that." She reached into the mud ahead of them and pulled Mako out. They hadn't even realized she was there. Maho continued. "All four of you. Just don't go thanking me for it."

As Maho turned to lead them further on, Mako mumbled under her breath. "And how long are you planning on being a prick?"

"What was that?" Maho turned back to them. "Who said that?"

Dodger appeared, putting her boot on top of Maho's head and pushing her down into the mud. "Oopsies! Someone forgot who's in fucking charge here! Don't forget that yelling at your fellow ameobas is my job, not your job, Private Fuck-up!" She let Maho up to cough and sputter. "These are your sisters in arms, you ungrateful shit! Worthless for all purposes besides wasting the enemy's bullets, maybe, but you share that future in common! Give them the respect you think _you_ deserve!"

A corporal they didn't really know ran up behind Dodger. "Sergeant. Important message."

"Oh, for fucks sake! What is it?"

She turned away, and the girls started moving again. They made their way around Maho quietly, trying not to make eye contact. She wiped the mud off her face with one hand, then wiped down her rifle as best she could while completely covered in mud. Caesar and Saemonza pushed past her a moment later, holding their rifles over their heads.

Saemonza looked at Maho's dirty rifle disapprovingly. "That'll cost you marks, not-Miho."

Caesar nodded. "You probably have to fire it at least once at the end of the course to prove you didn't get it all… dirty."

Arisa shoved through between them, followed by a couple Anzio girls and Lime. "What, you think they're handing out ammo at the end? There's no way these guns are already loaded." She turned around and pointed her gun for show. She didn't look nearly as imposing as she might have otherwise, since she was covered almost to her shoulders in flood water.

Maho backed out of the line of fire. "Even so, you shouldn't point it at anyone here."

"Ah, screw off! I know what I'm doing with this!"

"She said-" The sound of a gunshot split the morning. It took everyone several seconds for the sound of rain to return to their hearing. Lime stood in front of Arisa, holding the end of her rifle up so that it was aimed at the sky. Lime finished her sentence. "Don't point that at us."

Dodger stormed over to them. "Who the fuck is firing their weapon off already?! Private, what do you think you're doing?!"

Arisa looked about to cry. "I… I didn't think… it would be loaded…"

Dodger looked to Lime. "Where did that shot go?! Is anyone hurt?1"

Lime shook her head, shoving Arisa back. "No ma'am. It fired into the air."

The sergeant began relentlessly bearing down on Arisa. "You fucking moron! You could have gotten someone killed with your total lack of brains! You better believe you're going to be doing pushups every spare minute of the next month! You're getting off lucky, Private! If you'd hit someone and I had my way, you'd be hung! Turn around and march, Private! Double time now! And you can kiss your dreams of being an officer goodbye!" Dodger gave one look back at the remaining girls, then turned and walked back to the corporal. They briefly caught her say something of some concern. "Are you sure about that? It can't wait?"

Caesar patted Lime on the shoulder, taking note that she winced at the impact. "You've got quick moves. You alright?"

Maho walked on. "Shake it off. We have ground to cover."

Lime shrugged her off. "Don't make me stab you, _Caesar_."

"And don't make me squeeze you, _Lime_."

"Just leave me alone and focus on the task at hand. You don't need to worry about me."

Dodger jogged ahead of them suddenly, and they could see how bothered she was. It wasn't _just_ annoyance, though there was certainly a lot of that. The other emotion on her face was one they hadn't seen from her before, and as such it was hard for them to tell exactly what it was.

Mako looked over her shoulder. "Oh shit, here comes the sergeant. Heads down." She then simply sank below the surface, right in front of her friends.

Saori cried out in surprise and started searching around for her with one hand, keeping her other hand high and dry with her rifle. "Not here, Mako! You can't die here!"

Dodger stopped beside them, kneeling down so she was more level with them. "Akiyama. Get out. You're done."

Yukari had to do a double take before she realized that Dodger was serious. "Wh-what? But I was just-"

"Get out of there, Private! The exercise is over for you!"

Hana slung her rifle over her shoulder and started helping Yukari out of the trench. She looked up at the sergeant. "What's going on? Did Yukari do something wrong?"

Mako's face surfaced behind them. "She turned eighteen. Once you're an adult, you're no longer welcome in the military."

Dodger grabbed Yukari's rifle, then took her hand and pulled her out. "Follow me. You three keep going."

Saori watched them leave, then turned to Hana. "Should I be worried we'll never see her again, or that she'll be back later?"

"In just over two weeks, Saori will leave us too."

"Can it, Mako! It's not because it's her birthday!"

* * *

When the girls reached the end of the course, after the long muddy trench, and then navigating barbed wire in more mud that they sank into, and then a number of wooden logs that they had to balance on in the rain, they were met with a dark, dingy, and damp shooting range where each of them had to fire one shot from their rifles. Hit or miss, the ability to actually fire the shot would affect their grade the most. By the time they reached that point, they were all soaked, freezing, filthy, and miserable.

Arisa, of course, had already fired her shot and was completely unable to do anything. Most of the rest had little trouble. Many of them missed their targets, but that wasn't the objective. Firing their rifle was. Each of them, after firing off their rifle, was told to head for the showers.

Caesar stood up, handed over her rifle, and gave Lime a pat on the shoulder as she walked by. The European girl flinched and misfired, hitting the cold dirt right in front of her. The corporal standing over her ordered her back to the showers. Grumpily, Lime stood and handed it over, then headed after Caesar. She caught up as they entered the building.

"Hey, maybe you could leave me the hell alone."

Caesar wasn't quite sure why she was upset, but she could see something was bothering her. "Um… okay. I'm just trying to be friendly, but if you just don't want friends…" Lime just shook her head and started down the hall to their barracks. "Hey. We're supposed to take a shower. You need one after that just as much as I do."

She didn't answer, but she did stop and turn around. She walked in ahead of Caesar and sat down on one of the benches. Caesar waited for her to get ready for the showers, but eventually gave up and just got herself ready. After tossing each piece of clothing, she looked back to see if Lime had moved at all, and also to see if she was still there. She wasn't running out, so there was that, but no guarantee she wouldn't leave the moment Caesar went in.

Darjeeling walked in, spotted Lime, and walked over to her. "I heard about your little tale of heroics. I didn't realize you could move that fast."

Seeing that someone else was here to keep an eye on her, Caesar moved on to the showers. She couldn't wait any longer for it.

Lime looked up at her former team commander. She looked around, seeing that not many girls were in the change room at the moment, and let out a long sigh. "Yeah… not quite so quick, it turns out." She lifted her shirt just a little.

Darjeeling's eyes went wide. "Oh my Lord."

* * *

Yukari followed Sergeant Dodger into a building she hadn't really been in before. She'd actually been in one room, but she'd entered by removing the wall. This time, she was completely covered in mud, barely dressed, and eighteen years of age. She was also tired, but everything going on around her was pushing that to the back of her mind.

The sergeant opened a door and ushered her in. It was a small room with a desk, several pieces of communication machinery, and a young officer that looked around three years her senior. Dodger pointed to the chair, and the officer stood. She briefly saluted, then left the room. Yukari looked to Dodger for some sort of explanation.

The sergeant just shook her head. "You've got a call." She closed the door.

Whatever this was, it was starting to make Yukari's skin crawl. She sat down and picked up the phone, which had been left sitting on the desk. Holding it up to her ear, she spoke into the mouthpiece. "This… this is Yukari Akiyama. Who's calling?"

" _Yukar_ _i, dear? Are… are you alright? I've been trying to get in touch with you for hours._ "

"Mom? We were in the middle of an early morning drill. What's going on?" Her mom sounded worried, even scared a little, but hearing her voice was some great comfort all on its own. If her mother was calling her, though, she had to wonder what could have happened. Had the war reached Japan?

" _Yukari,_ _we… Miho and I are at the hospital right now. Your father… he had a heart attack. We've been waiting all night to hear anything, but they still haven't come out._ "

Yukari collapsed back into the chair when the news hit her. Her body started shaking all over. "B-but… but he… he's still… alive… right?" A doctor would have come out and told them if the worst had happened. She was sure that meant it would be all okay.

" _We hope so, dear. We just… don't know._ "

"Alright, Mom. You hold out, okay? He'll be back up and about in no time, you just wait and see. I promise… I promise I'll be home to see you as soon as I can. You _and_ Dad, together. I'll come see you soon."


	13. Sixth Of June: & Tears

By the time Yukari stepped into the showers to clean herself off, the rain had stopped and the showers were empty. The mud all over her was dried to a shell and the sun had started rising. She didn't have any energy left in her to put effort into washing herself, and so just stood in the shower, letting the warm water run down her body and to the drain in the floor. Tears and sweat were lost in the shower water, the mud and the dirt as it all washed away.

She'd spent four hours on the phone. Sergeant Dodger had surprised her by telling her she could take as long as she needed. She needed more than she'd taken, but she couldn't stand any more. She felt sick, exhausted, weak and frail. Her appetite was entirely gone, despite not having eaten in almost half a day. She didn't think she could stomach it anyways.

For three hours, she had sat there reassuring her mother that everything would be alright. That her father would recover and the three of them would all be together again. Miho had been there the whole time, but Yukari hadn't heard her voice once. And then the news finally came.

Yukari spent the last hour trying to console her mother. They'd learned that her father's heart attack had caused one thing after another to fail. The doctors had spent eight hours without rest trying to keep up. In the end, he just had nothing left. He was gone. Yukari had no time to cry for herself, trying in vain to comfort her grieving mother. In the end, she had to tell her mother to hang up and go home. She had to insist that Miho get them both home, if not for her mother's health, then at the very least for her unborn sibling's.

She sat down in the shower stall, her back up against the wall and the water splashing around her legs. Her mind went numb as she sat there, and then her left leg and her right shoulder. Absently, she reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. She stopped when she realized that her hair was starting to grow out again. It still wasn't half as long as before, but the usual friz was beginning to retake its rightful place.

She pulled herself back to her feet. Turning off the shower, she made her way back out to the change room. She stopped and stood in front of a mirror, taking a long look at herself. She hardly recognized the person staring back at her. Short hair that barely hung past her ears, lines on her skin where her clothes covered her, and a considerably dark tan on her arms, face, and legs. Her natural strength had disappeared under the muscle she'd gained from training, which now defined her arms, legs, and body in hard lines, and her breasts had even filled out a little as well. This woman staring back at her wasn't someone she'd met before, certainly not in the mirror.

The tired eyes were what caught her attention the most. Yukari was a girl full of life and happiness. She knew this. But this woman was tired and full of misery. The life and joy was gone. She got herself ready, putting on her clothes without really thinking about it. She staggered out into the hall, her surroundings barely registering on her mind.

"Private Akiyama."

She stopped in her tracks at the voice behind her. Slowly, she turned to face the sergeant. "Yes, ma'am?" Her voice was dry and frail, weakened from a night of crying.

Dodger stood at the end of the hall, her hands clasped behind her back. After a moment of just staring at Yukari with her cold eyes, she lowered her gaze. Reaching up, she pulled off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not any good at this, so bear with me." Moving her hand away from her hair, a single strand of blonde hair stuck straight up. The sight was jarring next to the normal image the sergeant held. She slowly took a few steps toward Yukari. "Screw it. I'm not going to bother trying to give you comforting words. It's far from my area of expertise, so listen up, Private."

Yukari instinctively stood at attention. "Ma'am. Yes, ma'am."

Dodger put her cap back on, hiding her almost-endearing hair. "I bet it's a big damn tragedy for you, Private. The whole world is crushing down on you. Hitting you with everything it's got. Well, Private, it's going to get harder. You're dad died. So what? Are you going to leave the army now? I don't think that's a choice you get to make, but I'm sure if you wanted to you could find a way. And what then?"

"Sergeant, may I speak freely?"

"Consider it your birthday present from me."

"Yes, ma'am." Yukari took a breath, then continued. "I don't think I have it in me to be a deserter, but… what am I supposed to do? My mother doesn't have anyone to take care of her now."

"Private, that's utter bullshit and you know it. Or at least you should. You didn't think your lack of income was because we didn't pay you, did you? Since we take so very good care of you, and there's really nowhere for you to go on your nonexistent days off, we at the army take the initiative and send all your pay home to your mother." She lowered her voice. "And the younger Nishizumi sister."

"Wha-" Yukari's voice caught in her throat. If Sergeant Dodger knew Miho was hiding with her parents, that meant it was only a matter of time before the army grabbed her and forced her into training. Not to mention the trouble she would be in for… dodging.

Dodger held up her hand to stifle any further shocked comments. "For the record, I'm not a supporter of the draft. I'm actually glad one of you escaped. So long as I'm the only one who knows, and trust me, I know more than you could possibly imagine, but she's safe where she is. That aside, I'm sure you know how machinery works."

Yukari was suddenly lost. "Machinery, ma'am?"

"Society is a machine, Private. The army is a machine, and so is the government. Your tanks are machines, and so are we. The war effort is a machine too, and like all machines, the entire thing can collapse at the loss of a single small piece that otherwise seems worthless. Without one soldier, one young loader, a tank crew is lacking. Because one tank crew is lacking, that tank isn't as reliable. Because of one unreliable tank, the line breaks. Because the line broke, the battle was lost. Because the battle was lost, the war was lost. The enemy spreads and takes more land. Maybe it takes all of Europe, or Africa, or Asia. Suddenly, they've taken Japan. Your home is gone, because one loader wasn't with her team."

Yukari was speechless. She had been aware of what was at stake, vaguely, but it hadn't been put into words. As long as it was just a thought, she could ignore it. Now that it had been said, she couldn't push it out of her head. This war was real. Even though she still didn't know who she would be fighting with or against, or where she would be sent, she understood, at least in part, how much was at stake. Whoever this enemy was, they could be kicking down the door to her home in a matter of months if no one was there to stop them.

"All that to say, Private, that you're more important than you know." The sergeant paused, then added an amendment to her statement. "Maybe." She turned around and walked away. "Probably not, statistically speaking."

Yukari watched as the sergeant walked around the corner and out of sight. Only then did she find her tongue again. "Thank you, Sergeant!"

* * *

Just after lunch, several of the girls were told there were phone calls waiting for them. Out of all of them, there were only around thirty calls. As they'd only been given access to four phones, most of them were waiting in line outside the room, and most of the calls were sitting in the queue. They'd been given a time limit of ten minutes each, and most of them were taking as much of the time as they could.

Erwin watched the door, waiting for her turn. She didn't really think there was much to talk to her parents about, so she wasn't sure why anyone would be calling her. She didn't have a problem with her parents, and if they wanted to talk to her she'd gladly take the call, but she didn't really know what to expect.

Darjeeling stepped out, having only been on the phone for about two minutes. She smiled at Erwin. "Your turn."

Erwin stood up and looked at the corporal manning the switchboard. She nodded, indicating that it was indeed Erwin's turn. She walked into the room, making her way past the others who were talking on the phone. The phone on the end was waiting for her. She sat down and picked it up.

"Hello?"

 _"Riko, dear, how are you?"_

"Dad? I'm… well, I'm okay. I guess… I guess I'm a little scared, but… well, who isn't? From what I've heard about this war, I'd be more scared if I wasn't ready to help."

 _"That's okay. You know it's not easy for me to see you sent off to war like this, but… I want you to know that I trust you. I trust you to come back alive, and to protect everyone. I know you didn't really have a choice in any of this, but I think you'll do well. You're the expert on war, after all."_

He was right. She straightened up in her seat. If there was anyone who could pull through overwhelming odds with just their tank and their wits, it was General Erwin Rommel. And if there was anyone who could follow his example, it was her. "Thanks… thanks, Dad."

 _"It's true, I'm not just saying that."_

"I know."

 _"Listen, I was told you ship out soon. When you get to wherever you're going, get in touch and let me know what base you're stationed at. I'll try to come and visit whenever you get some time off."_

She would like that. "I'm not sure if we get any time off. We haven't yet, anyway."

 _"Of course not. You're just in training. It's your first job, so I wouldn't expect you to understand."_

"Gee, thanks. Anymore nuggets of wisdom you want to impart?" They always talked like this. It was part of what made their bond special. Sarcasm and snark that the other would always brush off with ease. Now more than ever, she hoped he knew she didn't mean it the way it sounded.

Her father laughed it off, as usual. _"Nothing for now. It takes time to come up with these. I might have to start charging you for them."_

"Spare me, please."

 _"Well, anyway… just let me know, then. I want to time it right. There's someone I'd like you to meet."_

"Someone you… who would that be?"

 _"Sorry. Can't tell you until you meet her. How are we on time?"_

Erwin looked at the timer on the phone. "Um… not enough time to talk about anything else."

 _"Well, then I'll let you go for now. Keep in touch, okay? Love you."_

"Love you too, Dad." There was a click from the other end of the line, signaling the call was over. She stared at the phone for a moment. "He wants me to meet… 'her'? I hope Mom knows about this." She turned to look at the person sitting next to her. Not actually looking at them, but more just looking in their direction while she collected her thoughts.

Tsuchiya covered the mouthpiece of the phone she was holding. "Do you mind? Private conversation."

"Sorry." Erwin shook her head and stood up. She walked out of the room to where the rest were waiting, and then out of the building.

Darjeeling was waiting outside and gave her a friendly wave. "How was it?"

Erwin wasn't sure why Darjeeling would be interested in her phone call, but it didn't matter. She shrugged. "A little weirder than usual, but not too much. It didn't really feel like I had the full ten minutes, though."

She smiled. "It does feel like that sometimes, doesn't it?"


	14. Shipping Out: Across The World

Maho bolted awake, her harness the only thing that kept her in her seat. She looked around, startled and alarmed. The plane shook violently, rattling several other girls awake. A sturdy officer walked down the isle between them, ignoring the turbulence completely. She couldn't help but wonder when they were going to land. They'd been in the air since the moment they all graduated from basic training, being transported to the place where they would be stationed. None of them had been told a thing. They still didn't really know who they were being prepared to fight.

There was no ceremony. No high-ranking officer showed up to recognize them. Sergeant Dodger told them that they'd finished basic training, and then they were herded in groups into large cargo planes bound for who knows where. Looking around her, Maho saw a mixed bag of Anzio and Kuromorimine girls, a few from Saunders, and several Ooarai girls.

Noriko, who was sitting next to Maho, waved unenthusiastically. "We've landed and taken off again at least three times. Where do you think we are now?"

"The air." Erika called from several seats down. "There are no windows in here. How is anyone supposed to know where the hell we are?"

"Oh, for the love of God. Stow it, Erika!" Koume shot at her from across the plane, clearly fed up with Erika. To be fair, Erika's constant bickering the entire flight was why most of them had tried to go to sleep. None of them were happy with her. Koume was just one of the few in any sort of position to do anything about it.

"Hey, she asked a stupid question!"

"And you're just stupid! Now shut it!"

Maho looked down at herself. She could tell Erika to stay quiet. It was within her power, as one of a small handful of the girls who had passed the tests to become an officer. They hadn't been given all the official things yet, like the uniforms and such, but they were going to. She knew that the leaders of most of the teams had succeeded, and would be guaranteed command of one tank at the very least. It was a small place to start, especially for girls like Katyusha and Anchovy.

She was surprised that Koume had passed the tests as well, whereas Erika hadn't even tried. As a result, Erika wasn't going to be in charge of anything for a while. She knew Mika, Kinuyo, and Kay had all passed fairly easily, and Darjeeling was top of the class. Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by the plane landing, jolting all of them awake immediately.

Pepperoni gagged. "Oh God! I'm gonna throw up!"

Arisa whimpered. "Are we crashing?"

Koume was pale, but managed to hold herself together. "I think… that means we've arrived."

The officer, who had remained silent the entire trip, shouted at them to make sure they were all fully awake. Even Mako bolted upright at the sound. "This plane has somewhere to be! Get out and get loaded onto the trucks!"

The back of the plane opened, revealing tarmac again. Maho reached down and pulled her bag out from under her seat, just the same as all the other girls were doing. She walked down the ramp with the rest, though keeping her calm a bit better than most. She made straight for the nearest truck, climbing in and seating herself before she even bothered to look around her.

Noriko sat next to her again. "Another truck. It's like _déjà vu_ all over again. Maybe they'll just keep training us and never actually send us into a war zone."

The trucks took off one by one, making their way through the strange new landscape around them. It was a far cry from the desert they'd come from. They drove along roads that wound around steep mountains, reminding Maho at times of Japan. They saw the plane taking off behind them. Wherever they were, they wouldn't be going back. They didn't have much choice but to wait until they arrived at wherever they were going.

The three Anzio girls in the truck with them immediately started complaining that they were hungry. Maho didn't want to say anything, but they were starting to make her hungry. They crossed the line when they started describing exactly what meals they each wanted. Maho reached across and smacked the nearest one's knee.

She fixed the girl with a killer glare. "We're all really hungry and you're not helping. Shut up."

The girl rubbed her knee. "Okay, geez. No need to get violent."

Maho turned away, staring out the back of the truck. It was a stark contrast to when they had been shipped to the training camp when the truck stopped suddenly, only causing a couple of them to jostle a little bit. No one had been sent flying. Whether or not they were ready for war, they were all ready to take another six months of training. Hopefully, war wouldn't be any harder.

Noriko pushed past Maho and jumped out of the truck ahead of the rest. Maho followed her, since there wasn't really anywhere else for them to go. They could see more trucks arriving behind them, and more still further up the road. From everyone unloading from the trucks, it looked like they'd been more accurately divided by their schools. There was no sign of anyone from Chi-Ha-Tan, Pravda, or St. Gloriana. She would have expected some, but there wasn't a hint of anything else. It was really just Saunders, Kuromorimine, Anzio, and Ooarai. And it was all of the girls from those four schools. The next group of trucks unloaded girls that hadn't been on the same plane, but they were all from the same four schools.

It wasn't long before a young woman ran up to them. She couldn't have been much older than Maho herself. Maho and Noriko saluted, and the rest managed to fumble their way into saluting as well. She ran along the slowly increasing ranks of soldier girls, clearly looking for something.

Koume called out as the woman ran past. "Anything we can help you with, ma'am?"

The woman stopped, looking her up and down. "Ah, good! Lieutenant. Where are the other lieutenants in your outfit?"

"You're looking for the graduate officers. Yes ma'am. There are five of us."

Overhearing this, Maho stepped forward. "Yes ma'am. Lieutenant Nishizumi, reporting for duty."

Kay and Anchovy made their way over to join them as well. Maho knew the four of them were lieutenants now, but she wasn't sure who else had passed the tests. She supposed it could have been Naomi or Carpaccio, possibly one of the Ooarai girls like Kadotani or Erwin. She found herself very surprised when Pepperoni joined them. It didn't look like Anchovy was pleased about this, but Pepperoni was beaming and the woman didn't seem to care either way.

"Good. I need the five of you to follow me now. The colonel is waiting." She led them away from the rest of their teams, through the compound to the most permanent building they could see. It still looked like it could be torn down and moved in a matter of minutes. There was another woman in uniform standing outside like she'd been waiting for them. The woman leading them saluted. "The new lieutenants are here, ma'am."

"Thank you, Tachibana. Why aren't you in uniform?"

"Just woke up, ma'am. Didn't have time to get dressed."

She grumbled. "Go do that, then." She turned to the newly arrived lieutenants. "You'll be seeing a lot of Lieutenant Tachibana and myself from now on. We've got a lot to talk about and not much time, so I'm going to start by answering a few questions you all probably have. First of all, I'm Colonel Victoria. I'm second in command on this base, but the general is really busy and has asked me to take care of coordinating the armored troops. Second, we're in Northern Armenia. Currently, our objective here is simply to hold Armenia's borders."

Koume spoke first, sensing that the colonel's pause was a sign she was done. "Who are we fighting?"

The colonel shook her head. "Hopefully no one, but that's just wishful thinking. Where you're going to be positioned, you'll have to worry about Turkey the most. There's no guarantee Georgia won't attack, though. Russia's been putting a lot of pressure on them from the North. Now, I know you all come from Tankery teams and you're familiar with your teams and their call signs. We're arranging you mainly in the same groups you're used to."

Kay pumped her fist in the air, then swiftly switched to saluting. "Thank you ma'am!"

"Hold on. There's more. You, you, and you…" She pointed at Koume, Anchovy, and Kay. "The three of you will be helping to hold the borders where they're more stable. As stable as they can be, anyway. The Anzio tanks will be along the Northern border with Georgia. Kuromorimine will be along the Western border, mostly facing Turkey, but covering a little of the border with Georgia. Saunders will be helping secure the border with Azerbaijan."

"We're not holding these lines alone, are we ma'am?" Pepperoni looked nervously at Anchovy. "Anzio doesn't have as strong a force as Saunders or Kuromorimine."

The colonel nodded. "That's part of why Anzio is along the North. Least risk of actual conflict. When the fighting does break out, and it probably will, Georgia's the closest thing we have to an ally here. We need to be careful about it, though. Showing too much force could cause them to respond, even if it's just precautionary defenses. Now, you two." She pointed at Maho and Pepperoni. "You're mobile groups. You'll be moving around and taking out enemy emplacements actively. The CV-33's are to be incorporated into a second Anzio unit, and Ooarai will be operating on their own. You'll be sent further South more often, offering support to places like Nakhchivan. This is a territory of nearly thirty thousand square kilometers, and our job is to protect all of it. Hold it, and this will be your home for the next year and a half. It's a good place, with good people. Protect it."

They all saluted, feeling like this was the time to do so. "Yes ma'am!"

"I'll show you to your rooms. We're pressed for space, so you'll be doubling up in your rooms. You'll be back here every now and again, but you're only sleeping here for tonight right now. You all go to your respective stations in the morning."

* * *

Maho was glad for the privacy, even if she had to share it with Pepperoni. Kay was with Anchovy, which was good. Koume probably wouldn't have been able to deal with either of their egos. Koume was sharing a room with Tachibana, apparently. First Lieutenant Tachibana was quite tenacious, but a very reasonable person. Apparently it had been her suggestion that she share a room with one of the new second lieutenants.

Pepperoni lounged on her bunk, her blanket pulled over her legs and her arms folded behind her head. As soon as it was time to turn in for the night and they arrived at their room, she'd thrown off her uniform and jumped into bed. Maho unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off, tugging at her undershirt briefly.

Pepperoni sat up in her bed. "You think we're all gonna make it back here again? Every single one of us?"

Maho didn't want to talk. "No, I don't think so. You're going to die in your first encounter. The rest of us will be fine, though. We'll all live through the war and go home when it's over and conveniently forget that you ever existed. And they all lived happily ever after."

There was silence for a moment, and it looked like Pepperoni wasn't going to respond. Then she smiled. "I'm pretty sure there's pizza in heaven."

"Whoever said you'd be going to heaven?"

"Well… pretty sure I just did."

Maho shook her head and crawled under her blanket. "Maybe you'll survive if you get a good night's rest."


	15. Shipping Out: On The Move

"Akiyama, get up."

Yukari opened her eyes to see someone shaking her awake.

"Akiyama, it's five in the morning. You've got fifteen minutes before you're scheduled to deploy."

Yukari bolted upright, promptly hitting her head on the bunk above her. She fell back down, clamping her hands down on her forehead. "Ack! Damn it."

"Hernandez, Comou, you're supposed to be deploying right now. Stop worrying about her and worry about your own asses."

Yukari sat up, more slowly this time, watching as the two in question made their way out of the room. She was stuck in a room with five other girls, all simple privates. Hernandez and Comou were simple grunts, traveling with a convoy of trucks shipping supplies to the border. Their job was to pick things up and put them where they were told. Henders and Topalian were in the middle of some time off. Henders, who spent her time heckling the others, seemed to be glad for the time. Topalian was the opposite, and Yukari realized why; it was her country they were protecting. Of course, there was another girl in the room. She was a girl from Saunders who used the name Diana. She was nowhere to be seen, though, as the Saunders group had left an hour earlier.

Yukari pulled off her shirt and started changing into the clothes that had been provided to her. She was supposed to report for duty in these clothes. Simple camo-patterned shirt and pants with black combat boots that she tied tightly. She stuffed her cap in her shirt's chest pocket and checked herself in the mirror.

Henders clapped unenthusiastically. "Well done. You now have five minutes left to find your way across the base to wherever you're supposed to be."

Topalian patted Yukari's shoulder. "Give them hell."

Henders just sighed. "We're trying to prevent a war here, not win one."

"Tell that to the civilians in villages near the border. You hold the border keeping the enemy out while they shell our towns from safety. We need to put a stop to those artillery sites, or holding the border is useless."

Yukari inched toward the door. "I have to go." She ducked out before either of them could say anything more. She couldn't run down the hall, so it was good she was so close to the exit.

Saemonza appeared beside her. "Guderian. Today we go to war."

Yukari took a deep breath, walking towards the door as fast as she could without running. "Are you looking forward to this? Tell me honestly. Are you looking forward to killing someone?"

Saemonza cleared her throat and was silent for a moment. They stepped outside and she finally answered… sort of. "It's best not to think about that until after the fact. When the time comes, I won't hesitate. You shouldn't either."

"I really hope I don't freeze up. I don't want to kill, but it's preferable to being killed. Right?"

"Preferable to letting innocents get killed." Saemonza shielded her eyes from the sun as she scanned the sky above them. "It's going to be a hot day. If you're worried about killing, just focus on your job. You're the loader. I'm the one who has to worry about what I'm aiming at."

"I do not envy you."

As they made their way across the base, several other girls joined them. All of them were from Ooarai, on their way to war. Yukari felt her heart beating faster. She hoped it would calm down. If it just kept getting faster and faster like this, she'd pass out before they left the base.

"Hold up!" Most of them stopped. They were at the corner of a building, and the ground started shaking. Kadotani pulled Momo back from the corner just as a massive vehicle came into view. Coming out from behind the building, rolling by right in front of them, was Kuromorimine's Maus. Kadotani smirked. "I guess they got it moved finally."

Erwin appeared on the other side of Yukari from Saemonza. "That's awesome! You realize that Maus might see action? It'll be the first time since it was built that a Maus has actually fought in real combat!"

Yukari nodded. "Doesn't the legend say that one of the originals fired off a shot before it was overrun?"

"Unsubstantiated. Who knows what cannons were going off then? Someone probably mistook something else for the Maus." The Maus' hatch opened up and a familiar face popped into view. Noriko saluted quickly before ducking back into the giant tank. Erwin gaped. "How come she…"

Yukari shook her head, letting out a sad sigh. "The rest of her team is still back home. There's nothing we can do about it, really. She's probably taking the place left by one of their first-years."

Saori piped up from behind her. "You know, Rabbit Team are all in their second year now. Same with all the first-years we left behind. And Miho's in her third year."

Kadotani started walking, calling back to them. "It's passed. Wish them luck and get moving."

They picked up the pace, making their way to a large hangar-like building. Yukari wondered at its size, but rationalized that it probably held more than just Ooarai's tanks. It looked rather empty now, save for the five tanks waiting at the back, and the young woman standing in front of them. It was Maho.

Saori tapped Yukari on the shoulder. "I really hope we're in the same teams as before. Don't you?"

Maho called them over in a commanding voice. "Fall in, ladies! We move out in ninety seconds!"

They all rushed to her and sorted themselves by their tank crews. Anglerfish, Turtle, Hippo, Mallard, and Leopon. Yukari hoped that Maho wouldn't say anything about them assuming they'd all be in the tanks they knew best. It turned out she didn't have a problem with that, as it saved time.

Maho let out a sigh. "Get to your stations. In case you haven't already figured it out, I'll be taking command of the Panzer, as well as the whole platoon. Now get a move on."

As they approached their tanks, Hana looked to Saori. "It's been a while since we've all been together like this. I almost wish Miho was with us."

Yukari rushed ahead suddenly, glomping the frontal armor of the Panzer IV and snuggling up to the war machine. "Finally! We are reunited!"

Mako climbed past her and opened up the hatch to the driver's seat. "They cleaned it up. Looks like the armor's been reenforced too."

Climbing up to the turret, Hana looked over the main cannon. "Looks like they changed a lot. Subtle differences, but definitely different."

Pulling herself away from the front of the tank, Yukari hopped up onto the main hull and made her way to the turret. She nodded at Hana's observation. "They probably upgraded it as much as they could. They don't want to waste time having to retrain us for a whole new tank, so I bet it drives and shoots pretty much the same way as before, just more efficiently. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the main gun much more powerful."

Mako, looking up from the driver's seat, agreed with Yukari. "The cannon isn't any longer than before. And we're about to find out if the drive controls are any more sensitive."

Saori popped her head out of the hatch next to Mako's. "The radio looks totally different! It's brand new! My… my powers are growing!"

Maho stepped over her, making her way to the top hatch. "Stop wasting time. The tank should operate the same as you're used to, just better."

Yukari saluted. "Yes ma'am!" She slid herself in through her hatch, closing it behind her. On the other side of the turret, Hana slid into place as well. She looked over her station to make sure everything was in place, then gave Yukari a thumbs-up just as Maho dropped in right between them. Yukari grinned and saluted again. "We're ready, ma'am!"

Maho leaned forward, mumbling to herself. "Only thirty seconds behind schedule." She put her hand on Saori's shoulder. "You can handle this new gear, right?"

Saori nodded. "I went out of my way to find lessons on modern military communications during training. Not only will I not let you down, I'll use this thing better than any radio has ever been used before."

Hana nodded. "And I'll fire the best that any gunner has ever fired."

Yukari pumped her fist. "I'll take loading to a new level!"

Mako deadpanned. "I'm gonna drive the shit outta this."

Saori recoiled from Mako's statement. "Wait, what? Mako! What would your grandmother say if she heard you talking like that?"

"She's not here. She doesn't need to know."

"And what if I tell her?"

"That would be a problem."

Maho reached in and put her hand between them. "Shut up. Hippo Team and Rabbit Team have already started moving. I don't want to be the last one moving." There was an awkward silence.

Hana poked her head out the hatch beside her. "Um… the Hetzer is Turtle Team."

Maho looked back at her. "What? Then what's the StuG?"

Saori answered. "That's Hippo Team." She smiled slyly. "Wait, you thought Hippo Team was Rabbit Team and Turtle Team was Hippo Team? Did you even pay attention to any of our battles?"

Maho sat back, her face going blank. "Move out."

Mako started up the engine amid Saori and Hana's laughter at their commander's expense. The Panzer IV started rolling, leaving the hangar right behind the Mallard B1. Once they were out, driving down the road to the gate, they could see the entire Ooarai team ahead of them. Leopon Team had apparently made it out first and was now leading the charge.

Maho pulled a map out of her breast pocket and unfolded it. "Okay, we have our orders. We're headed across the border to take out an artillery group that's been shelling civilian villages. The Turkish government is trying to avoid a conflict over this and have been claiming that this artillery has fallen under the control of a rogue colonel. While the United Nations have decided to accept this explanation, Turkey has yet to do anything to stop the colonel. The UN continues to act like everything's fine, content to hold the borders, but Colonel Victoria has grown tired of taking in refugees from the villages being shelled. We're putting a stop to it."

While Saori passed their orders along to the other tanks, Hana looked to Maho. "We're crossing the border? Couldn't that cause a larger conflict?"

Maho kept her eyes on the map in her hands. "According to Colonel Victoria, the Turkish government claims they will publicly condemn this action, but more privately they've actually asked that it be taken care of. They've got their hands full, apparently. Of course, none of this is anything they've mentioned at the UN." She held the map up for Hana to see, pointing at the name of a small village. "How do you pronounce this?"

"Horribly, most likely." Hana shook her head. "So let me get this straight. They want us to take care of this for them, but they're going to say we shouldn't have done it. So it's a lose-lose situation."

"It's a win for the folks who don't have to worry about being blown apart." Maho handed the map down to Saori and pointed at the village again. "Tell them we're going to this place."

Saori read the name off letter for letter, simply spelling it out for everyone listening. She then handed the map back, holding her headset's microphone away from her mouth. "Did you think I was kidding? I know how to communicate." She turned back again, answering someone's question. "Look, I told you the name of the place we're going, and the coordinates to a place we're going. It's safe to say that it's the same place, Sodoko."

Maho frowned, folding the map back up and stuffing it back in her pocket. "Is she going to end up mothering the entire team?"

Saori turned around, covering the microphone again. "I am your mother! I'll make sure you never miss a meal and that you always keep yourself clean! Fold your laundry, brush your teeth, and always say please and thank you!"

"She's always been the most responsible one." Hana laughed. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed a bit, Saori."

Mako suddenly reported from the front. "The handling has improved, and I think it's a lot faster now. Also, have you noticed the engine is quieter? I think they replaced it with an electric one."

"That would make sense." Yukari checked behind her to see the shells waiting to be loaded. "These don't look any different, at least at first glance. They're probably a hell of a lot more powerful, though. I should test one, just to see if they're any heavier."

Maho, glad to get away from Saori's ranting, reached back and grabbed one of the shells, tipping it a bit to test its weight. "Geez, these are pretty heavy. Are you sure you can handle them?"

Yukari grabbed the shell out from under Maho's hand. She hefted it in her hands, getting a feel for it. "It might throw me off some, since they're a little lighter than what I'm used to. I'll get used to it pretty quickly, though."

"Lighter?" Maho shook her head. "Well, I'm not a loader. Isuzu, what about you? Think you can handle the gun?"

Hana turned back to the firing mechanism in front of her, looking it over again. "Hmm… it's not set up any different. So, while the gun itself and the shells it fires are different, how it operates shouldn't change." She smiled. "My second shot definitely won't miss."

"I'd rather your first shot not miss either."

Silence fell over them as they rolled through the gate, leaving the base on their way to their first mission. Saori kept her ear to the radio, listening for anything that needed a response. Hana and Yukari opened their hatches and leaned out, taking in the air of the strange new land they'd found themselves in. Maho sat in her seat, waiting for something to happen.

Mako spoke. "Wait, isn't Yukari's mom pregnant?"

Yukari pulled herself back inside. "Huh? Did you forget or something?"

"No, I just never really had that cleared up for me. I heard something about it, but never had it confirmed."

Saori turned around to glare at Yukari. "How have I not heard about this yet?!"


	16. Shipping Out: Across The Border

Getting to the border was just a matter of time. There wasn't much of anything in their way, and anything they did encounter was on their side. Maho had explained to them all that once they got to the border they would have to find a way across without any allies knowing. That would be the hard part, but Maho had a plan. The Panzer IV moved ahead to the front of the platoon, so that when they reached the border Maho would be the first to talk.

She'd been given access to all of Kuromorimine's tank placements, and was now about to abuse that knowledge. As the five Ooarai tanks rolled up to the border, the lone Tiger tank's top hatch opened up. Erika stood up, looking over Ooarai's tanks with disdain. Her face barely changed when Maho appeared in the Panzer IV's top hatch.

"What's going on?"

Maho nodded to her former subordinate. "You haven't headed out yet. Probably best you waited until we arrived."

Erika narrowed her eyes at Maho. "We just got here. What are you talking about?"

Putting on a pretty convincing no-nonsense look, Maho gave the lie the colonel had permitted her to use. "You must have missed it then. No worries, I'll pass your new orders along. You are to reposition ten clicks North in response to elevated activity. Ooarai will be filling in the gap down here, just in case." As if to prove her point, Leopon Team and Hippo Team started spreading out further South, and Turtle Team looked like it was getting quite cozy behind some thick shrubbery.

Erika didn't look impressed. It wasn't that she didn't trust Maho. It was that she didn't trust Ooarai's tanks. "Fine." She ducked back into her Tiger. "Move us ten clicks North. Security needs to be thicker there, apparently."

Once the Tiger was turned around and headed back along the road, Maho dropped back into her seat. "She looks almost as upset as that time Miho fell asleep and drooled on her uniform."

Mako looked over her shoulder. "We gonna skip the border, boss?" The silly voice she said it in didn't help.

Maho sighed. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. "We wait a bit longer. Don't want her looking back and seeing us abandoning the position."

"We've been on the move for several hours already." Yukari leaned back against the hull. "I don't think I've ever been in a tank so long without actually doing anything."

Saori, who had been given the map when Maho determined it was better off in her hands, traced her finger along the road Erika would be taking to her false position. "We've got about forty-five minutes before she gets back. Less if she calls in to confirm those orders. More if she gets there and doesn't figure it out for a while. It's not even eleven yet, so it's too early for lunch…"

Hana laughed. "Saori?"

"Huh?"

"We haven't had breakfast yet."

"Ah! You're right! That's why I'm so hungry!" Saori stood up and pushed her hatch open. "I'll break open the supplies."

Maho shook her head. "Erika should be out of range now. We'll wait for noon to eat. It's time to move."

Disappointed, Saori sat back down. She fiddled with the radio a bit and called the rest of the platoon. "Lieutenant Nishizumi says we're not stopping for lunch break. Move ahead."

"We should leave the Hetzer at the border, just in case." Maho pointed to Hana. "We're headed into enemy territory now. Be ready for anything." She turned to Yukari. "Ready the first shell, but don't load it just yet."

Four Ooarai tanks moved to the border into Turkey, leaving Turtle Team's Hetzer sitting in the bushes.

Maho was surprised to find there didn't seem to be any Turkish forces on the other side of the border. At least not yet. Regardless, she stuck to the plan. Better to leave the road now than to wait for hostile forces to appear. They stopped momentarily, with Maho running out ahead to open up the gate. It seemed strange that there was no one there to guard it at all.

When Maho returned to the tank, Saori voiced similar concerns. "I've been flipping through all channels. There's no chatter at all. I'll keep searching, but this can't be normal."

Maho took a deep breath. This was a highly unsettling situation. "We just have to hope it's a gift from the Turkish government and not a trap. They claim they don't want to start a conflict over this. Let's hope that's true."

Off road driving wasn't as easy as they'd hoped, but Mako and Tsuchiya managed quite well. The others had to rely on the path being crushed down for them, making it easier to traverse. Maho still didn't like how open most of the landscape was here. They had nowhere to hide except behind hills. Hills that another tank could easily scale. She longed for trees right now.

It was around half-past noon when they stopped for lunch. The sixteen girls climbed out of their tanks and unfolded the tarps they had packed with them, covering their tanks. It wasn't perfect, and anyone looking for tanks would find them, but someone who wasn't looking could easily overlook what appeared as a few strange rocks.

They couldn't risk starting a fire, but that wasn't a problem. They didn't need the warmth, as it was Summer, and they had special gear just for cooking. Saori got out a packet of food, tearing it open and pouring the powder into a pot while Yukari boiled some water on the heat pad. They poured the boiled water into the pot, and Saori stirred the mixture until it was thick enough.

"Mashed potatoes! I'd prefer to mash them myself, but at least they were actually potatoes at some point." She divided it into four equal shares that she put in their tins. "It says four servings, so someone's going to have to share with Mallard Team."

Mako took the empty tin, stood up, and hobbled over to the other team, who had prepared their own meal. Saori shrugged, passing a tin over to Yukari. She passed the next one over to Hana, and the last one to Maho.

Their commander accepted her lunch and leaned back against the Panzer IV's side paneling. She let out a sigh. "We're in hostile territory. If we get caught, not only will we be shot, it will cause all out war."

"Geez." Yukari stopped shoveling food into her mouth for a second. "Way to put more pressure on us."

Maho sat up again. "You should feel like there's pressure on us. It's our lives on the line here, but more than that, there's a lot of other lives at stake. All out war would cost even more lives."

Hana looked thoughtful. "So, if they were drafting girls from Tankery teams because the war was making them desperate, then why are we here? I mean, I get that we're here so they can move the forces that would normally be here to a place where they're more needed, but where is that? We're in the Middle East. There's never been a bigger hotbed for conflict. If we're here, where are all the troops we're replacing?"

"I mean, we're in the Caucuses." Yukari started cleaning her tin. She smiled up at Hana. "There's a lot South of here and East of here that could be where the main fight is going on."

Saori set her dishes in front of Yukari. "First person done cleans."

"Wha-"

Maho added hers as well. "Agreed."

"Bu-"

Mako appeared and, staring Yukari right in the eye, dropped her tin on the pile. "Three to two, motion carried."

Saori unfolded the map and looked it over. "I'm surprised you didn't notice, Maho. The active war zones are indicated on the map."

"Oh, I noticed. I just didn't think it was relevant to our mission." She hadn't actually noticed, but they didn't need to know that. "And you'll refer to me as Lieutenant or Ma'am. Right, Private?"

"Still being a prick? Alright."

Maho turned on Mako. "Excuse me? What did you just say, Private Slug?"

Mako straightened up, but only a little. "Sorry, Lieutenant. I said, you're still being a prick, Ma'am."

Saori interrupted, sensing that this wasn't going to go well. "Mako, stop it. While that would certainly work for Sergeant Dodger, I think Maho… er, Lieutenant Nishizumi, takes issue with being called… that."

"So anyway." Hana handed Yukari her dishes as well. "Saori, where is the active war zone?"

Saori sighed as she looked over the map again. "At the time this was published, pretty much all of Northern Africa, most of the Middle East, all the way over to Western China, South-East Asia… oh, it does go down through most of Africa. And pretty much all of Eastern Europe."

"I don't get it." Maho leaned in closer. "That sounds like just all the places that are pretty much always warring. It sounded more like it was one big war. Unless you're going to tell me that the Somalis are in league with North Korea."

"Uh, no. Western China. The place bordering Pakistan and all that." Saori turned the map around, pointing her finger at the spot so everyone could see. "North Korea is staying neutral to all this for now, thank God. That's the last thing we need."

Yukari looked up. "So who are our allies, then?"

"Less talking, more cleaning." Mako snapped her fingers, pointing Yukari back to her work.

Saori looked over the map again. "Allies, huh? Um… Armenia. China, India, Russia are all fighting the same foe, but I don't think we're supposed to rely on them. Israel, that's usually a good choice. The map doesn't actually say, and I haven't gotten enough time to look over everything yet. I don't know too much about the war at large because we're not fighting in the war at large. We're in hostile Turkey, taking out stuff Turkey wants taken out."

"Speaking of which, we still can't afford to get caught. Reizei, come with me. We're checking out the road." She got up and led Mako towards the road. It was over several hills, but when she reached the top of the last one, she laid down and pulled out a small telescope. "This is good. I can see for miles in both directions."

"So why am I here?"

She turned to Mako, who was just standing there next to her. She reached up and pulled her down. "Get down. Someone will see you."

"Standing gives you a better view. A view with which I could see that there isn't anyone but us out here."

"Shut up. You don't know where they might be hiding." Looking through the telescope in both directions, she confirmed her suspicions. "There is someone watching us. About a mile down the road, back towards the border, they're hiding on top of the hill."

Mako took the telescope when it was handed to her. "Oh, just like us, huh?" She looked around the area Maho had indicated. "I don't see… wait." There, on top of the hill, she thought for a second she saw the sun reflecting off something. "Shit. I think it's a sniper."

The moment that word left Mako's mouth, Maho grabbed her by the collar and dragged her down from the hill. "Back to the tank. Everyone in. We're leaving immediately. If we're being tailed by a sniper, we need armor and distance between us as soon as possible."

On the hilltop they had been observing, the sniper jotted down notes in her book. Her superior would want a full report. Not only a report on the Ooarai armored platoon, but on the enemy they would be facing. Lieutenant Tachibana closed the book and climbed down the hill. Colonel Victoria suspected there was more to this rogue artillery unit than it seemed, but she needed Tachibana to confirm it. This was her specialty, after all. The Ooarai girls would never need to know it was her.


	17. Artie Hunters: Ricochet

_The Lieutenant's had us running non-stop for the past twelve hours. Private Takebe had to feed our driver so we could keep moving without her passing out. I understand why we're continuing like this, but I think the Lieutenant's being a bit too hard on us right now. I know we're in potentially hostile territory, but we should be able to take a break every now and again. I thought Sergeant Dodger was bad._

"Akiyama, are all our shells secure?"

Yukari closed her notebook and set it aside, looking back at the rack of shells. They rattled lightly as the Panzer IV H rolled over the uneven ground, but none of them moved more than a fraction of a millimeter. They were fastened in place quite snug. Yukari gave her lieutenant a thumbs-up.

Maho didn't smile, but Yukari pretended like she had. She turned away and tapped Mako's shoulder with her foot. "Let's head for those hills to the West. They'll provide further cover from the roads. Anyone looking for us, or anything allied to us, will have to come searching over miles of empty land."

Mako grumbled. "Yes Ma'am, Lieutenant Prick."

"I'll be including remarks like that in my report, Private."

"Hold on, Lieutenant." Mako's words were dripping with as much dry spite as she could muster. It was pretty clear she much preferred Maho's younger sister.

The Panzer IV turned, rolling up the side of a hill. Leopon Team rolled up right after them, with Hippo Team and Mallard Team bringing up the rear side by side. As the Panzer took the hilltop, Maho reached up and opened the hatch. She stood up and looked around, trying to see if there was any sign of the sniper following them. She didn't see anything, which was to be expected unless they could run at more than thirty miles an hour for twelve hours. It wasn't something that seemed humanly possible.

However, she quickly found she had something more to worry about. Down the other side of the hill, facing her direction, was the massive bulk of an artillery emplacement. The men operating it had spotted the tank immediately. She nearly froze when she saw the shapes of machine guns in their hands. She was about to get shot at, and suddenly she had no idea what to do about it.

"Get her back in here!"

Hearing the urgency in Saori's voice, Yukari grabbed the Lieutenant's shirt and dragged her back into the tank. She reached up to try and pull the hatch shut, only for the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the hull to chase her away.

Yukari hid in the back corner, next to the ammo rack. "H-holy shit! Someone's shooting at us!"

Saori shouted back at them. "The radio just exploded in my ear! People are yelling about tanks! What the fuck is going on? Did someone find us?"

Maho felt her body go numb. This one artillery emplacement had spotted them, and they'd already alerted others. They were about to be hit by God only knew how many tons of metal falling at unholy speeds. She didn't know what to do. It wasn't that she was unsure. It was like her brain had totally forgotten everything she was supposed to do in a situation like this. She didn't know.

Hana kicked Mako's shoulder. "Get us moving! Make us a moving target!"

"Aight!" Mako leaned forward, and the Panzer lurched ahead in response, careening down the hill towards their target.

Hana crammed her face into the scope. "Alright, Lieutenant! I can hit it now! I need your command!"

Maho looked over slowly. She had to remind herself that now was the time to act. "Right… Right! Fire!"

"I hope this is our actual target." Hana pulled the trigger.

The tank shook as the main cannon fired, launching the heavy armor piercing shell at multiple times the speed of sound. It slammed into the front of the artillery, smashing its way through the armor and into the engine, where it exploded. A burst of fire erupted from the side of the artillery, sending shrapnel flying out into the field.

Hana pumped her fist. "Hit! Another shot should finish it off!"

Yukari rammed the shell into place. "Hold on!" She finished up and held her hands up. "Ready!"

Maho shouted. "Fire!"

"Firing!"

The tank shook again, and the second shell arced through the air and hit the artillery beside the main cannon. It went through, but it was hard to see where it exploded. Everything was obscured instantaneously by a secondary explosion that engulfed the entire vehicle. It went up in flames, a ball of fire rising up into the sky.

"Damn it." Hana muttered under her breath. "That's pretty visible. We're going to want to get out of here."

"Do we leave the enemy combatants?" Saori looked back at them. "Are we just supposed to get the machinery, or do we need to take them out too?"

"I can run them over, if you want."

Saori turned on Mako. "That's horrid! Don't even say that!"

"I'm just saying. We could. It's an option." Mako shrugged. "Whatever."

"We can't take any prisoners, and we can't afford them following us." Maho took a deep breath. "And we can't waste the main cannon on them, so…"

Saori held up a finger and took a moment to focus on her headset. She came back a few seconds later. "The others are asking what we're supposed to do now. There are three men, two are injured, one unconscious. They've surrendered."

"Great." Maho let out a long sigh. "I'll deal with this." She stood up out of the hatch, looking down at their prospective prisoners.

Two of the men stood with their hands in the air, having thrown their weapons on the ground. One of them was putting most of his weight on one leg, the other leg clearly having been hit by shrapnel from the explosions. The third man was laying on his back, blood coming from his side where it looked like shrapnel had hit him as well. The pillar of fire that had once been enemy artillery sat in the background like something from a war movie.

"Ah, hell." She reminded herself that she was now in this war movie.

Taking a glance behind her, she could see the rest of the platoon. All four main cannons were pointed at the captured men. She could just order them to open fire and obliterate the men, and part of her thought it was the best decision, but she didn't want to start her military career with war crimes. At the very least, she could take their weapons and point them in the direction of the nearest town. They would know where that was better than she would anyway.

Standing half out of her own hatch, Erwin frowned at the situation. Midoriko was looking to Maho, waiting for her orders. Nakajima was making herself useful, surveying the hills around them. Maho shook her head and turned back to the men. They looked like they were starting to question the seriousness of their situation. Their emplacement had been blasted to kingdom come, but the sight of teenage girls in tanks probably caught them off guard just a little.

A fourth man appear suddenly, running around from behind the burning wreck and shouting at his comrades. They dropped like a stone, hitting the ground as he fired an assault rifle wildly in the general direction of the lead tank. Maho ducked into the tank just as several high caliber rounds bounced off the top of the turret. The moment she dropped out of sight, the first two men grabbed their weapons and opened fire as well. The man who had supposedly been unconscious pulled a hidden pistol and got up, advancing on the tank.

Maho kicked Saori and Mako at the same time. "Get us out of here! Go! Go! Go!"

Mako leaned forward, peering through her tiny viewport. "What the fu- someone just jumped on top of us!"

Maho looked up just in time to see the muzzle of a pistol shoved into her face. More from panic than training, she shoved the mans arm to the side, unintentionally slamming his hand against the side of the cupola. The gun went off and the tank was suddenly filled with the sound of a bullet ricocheting around the inside. It bounced nine times that Maho could pick out while trying to cover her head, before being obscured by the sound of exploding electronics and the searing pain coming from the back of her neck. Hana cried out in pain and Mako swore several times before it finally came to a stop.

Yukari felt something small and solid hit her forehead, and her face exploded in pain. Stunned and scared out of her mind that she'd been shot in the head, she simply fell onto her back and started screaming uncontrollably. Fortunately for her, she was still alive enough to scream uncontrollably. The bullet had lost enough momentum that, even hitting head on, it didn't manage to do any real damage. The tank was now moving, and the man had dropped his gun and fallen off the tank in the meantime, but some damage had certainly been done. How much damage, they didn't yet know.

Maho reached up and pulled the hatch shut, and then clamped her hand down on the back of her neck. She was pretty sure the bullet had at least nicked her. "Status report!" She winced. "Ah! Damn it. Akiyama! Shut up! You're alive! Stop sc- For the love of God, shut up!"

Saori jumped up and climbed over to the back of the cabin, pulling Yukari up onto her seat. She pried her friends hands away from her forehead. "Hey! Hey, it's okay! You're going to be okay!" She frowned at what she saw, blanching a little. "I'm not gonna lie, it's not good, but it's not bad. Hold on."

Maho looked over to Yukari. The bullet had definitely broken the skin when it hit her, but her skull had deflected. It was probably somewhere on the floor around her now. However, it still managed to do a number on her looks for the time being. Blood was running down her face, getting in her eyes and dripping off her chin and nose. It was all over her hands too, running down to her elbows.

Saori tore off her sleeve without a second thought and tied it tightly around Yukari's head. "There. Not the best solution, but it'll do for now." She used the loose end of the sleeve to wipe away what she could from Yukari's eyes. "Can you see?"

Yukari was still hyperventilating, the burning pain in her face not allowing her body or mind to calm down. Saori's help was enough to bring her back from total panic, however, and she managed to shakily thank her friend. "I think… I'll make it."

Maho turned her back to Saori and lifted her hair away from her neck. "My turn. How bad does it look?"

Saori looked up and frowned. "It's pretty red, but you're not bleeding. I don't know what hit you, but you should probably avoid it in the future."

Mako turned to look back at them. "Is everyone alive at least?"

Saori crawled over to her, dabbing her sleeve against the side of Mako's head. "We're all alive, but I think that bullet grazed you."

Mako reached up and batted her away. "Stop- stop it. Buzz off. It graze my shoulder on the other side. Leave me alone for a moment and figure out whose blood splattered on my face."

Saori turned to Hana. "Oh… oh my God. Are you…?"

Hana was sitting at her station, holding her left leg in the air and breathing heavily. Her leg was soaked in dark red that was starting to pool under her. "I think it went all the way through. Am I… am I going to keep it?"

Saori ripped her other sleeve off and started tying it around Hana's leg. "We'll stop the bleeding for now and worry about that later. Right now we need to get to safety." She did her best to make sure the pressure was not squeezing the sides of the wound. "We need to get her back to base soon. I don't like the idea of taking her along with us. That could get infected real easy."

Maho nodded. "We'll send her over to Mallard Team and take their loader while they head back. Takebe, contact the other tanks. We need a status report."

Climbing back to her station, Saori motioned at the fried radio. "Good luck. It's a brick now. Someone's gonna have to go up and look around." She took out a notepad and started writing down and briefly waved at Maho, telling her to sit back down. "Okay, so we need Pazomi, and someone from Leopon Team to repair the radio. We don't need you getting shot, so I'll go out in a second."

* * *

While the emergency was unfolding inside the Panzer IV H, Midoriko had been dealing with her own problems. She'd seen their leader take off, and the enemy soldier fall off the side of the tank. The other two tanks drove off after her, their commanders ducking into the safety of their own armored shells. Three of the soldiers fired at them as they retreated, but Midoriko's tank stood still. She hadn't given them any orders.

She dropped down into the tank and sidled up to the 47 mm. "Don't move us yet! We need to finish this! And don't you dare waste the 75!"

Moyoko looked up over her shoulder. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to finish taking out this enemy position."

Nozomi and Moyoko looked at each other, then to their commander and chorused together. "Wait, what?!"

She pulled the trigger, and a cloud of dirt flew into the air in front of them. She loaded another round and fired again, before the dirt had even fallen back to the ground, just adding to the chaos. She reached up and pushed her hatch open, standing up and pulling out her sidearm.

Nozomi shouted up at her. "What are you doing?! Stop!"

Waving the dust away from her face, she glared through the cloud of her own creation. She spotted a figure moving round and took aim. She pulled the trigger. The gunshot barely registered in her ears, but the figure dropped to the ground all the same. As the dirt settled, she saw another one and took aim again, firing again. It fell to the ground as well.

After a few more seconds, she could see the third man was already dead, lying on the ground where he had landed after her second shot from the 47 mm sent him flying. The fourth man was nowhere to be seen, after being directly hit by her first shot. It was over.

Sitting back down, she closed the hatch and holstered her weapon. "Okay, go. We don't want to get left behind."

Moyoko slowly turned back. "Y-yes ma'am."

Midoriko noticed Nozomi staring at her. "What? What are you looking at?"


	18. Artie Hunters: Scouts

"We need to employ scout tactics, or that's going to happen again and we won't be so lucky."

Yukari gingerly touched her forehead. "Gotta say, I don't feel very lucky."

Midoriko walked over to the group, hand on her hip like she was ready to pull out her pistol. "I've got Private Isuzu loaded in. If I go now, I can get her back to base before this time tomorrow."

Maho looked up from the map. "Good. Leave us Konparu. Isuzu can fill in for her if you encounter hostiles, but I need a functional gunner."

Mallard Team's commander let out an annoyed sigh. "Not sure I'd call her functional, but if it's her you want, she's yours, Lieutenant."

"Okay, you should move out now." Maho turned back to Erwin, who was looking over a map of the Caucus Mountains by the light of a small lantern. Her impromptu command team had gathered for a meeting as the last of daylight vanished. "We don't have many options when it comes to scouts. I need suggestions."

Erwin shook her head. "The only thing I can think of is stopping periodically and sending out two or three people to see what's ahead before we continue. It'll take longer, but it'll be less dangerous. We'd need it to be people we can trust not to be spotted or lead the enemy back to our position."

Mako pointed at Erwin and Yukari. "Then I'd suggest not sending the tank twins. They're not exactly experts on stealth."

Neither of the girls in question had anything to say to that, so Maho turned to Mako. "Who do you suggest then?"

"Oryou, yourself, and either Hoshino or Suzuki." She paused as Mallard Team moved away, waiting for the sound of their engine to disappear into the distance, then explaining her choices. "There are thirteen of us. Take the top six, say, for stealth. Who would you rank at the top? Oryou, Lieutenant Nishizumi, myself, Nakajima, Hoshino, and Suzuki. Maybe Hana would have been a good choice, but we don't have her right now. Now, say we need three scouts. We want to minimize impact on the tanks while the scouts are away. One driver, one commander, and one loader or gunner. We also don't want to take more than one person from each tank."

Across the circle, Nakajima nodded. "I'd suggest Suzuki. In a pinch, I can fill in for her better than for Hoshino."

Erwin nodded. "I can drive the StuG if need be. Oryou will be our scout."

Maho stood up. "Fine then. That's what we'll do. Keep this position until we return. Where are Oryou and Suzuki?"

Erwin pointed to the StuG. "My team is taking a rest for now. I'll go get Oryou up."

"Do that." Maho turned to Nakajima. "I'm putting you in charge until I return. Don't let Private Reizei give you any of her shit. Don't defer to her."

Mako climbed up onto the Panzer IV H and looked down at them. "Seriously? I just gave you the best plan for scouting and the first thing you do is tell everyone not to listen to me?"

Nozomi took this moment to talk to Maho, walking up to her and saluting. "Ma'am. Private Sono told me I was filling in for Private Isuzu."

"Yes. Get inside and take a rest for now." She turned around to look up at the Panzer. "Akiyama, you're on first watch with Saemonza. Nakajima, I leave the rest up to you."

"Understood, ma'am." Nakajima returned to her tank and climbed up, sitting down on the back end.

Yukari got up and put her hand on Nozomi's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you properly settled in." They climbed up to the turret as Mako dropped into her seat and promptly fell asleep. Yukari stuck her head in and pointed at the gun controls. "Make yourself at home, but don't fire it off right now."

"I kind of thought that." She sat down, looking over the controls. "It's different, but I guess that's because it's a German design, not French. I think I can work it out, though."

Yukari smiled, then looked down toward the front of the tank where the radio was being repaired. "How's that coming along? Maho wants Suzuki out scouting."

Saori looked up in surprise, then over at Leopon Team's loader, who was helping her with the repairs. Really, Saori was the helper, handing her the pieces and tools she needed as she asked for them. She frowned. "But we're nowhere near done. How am I supposed to fix this myself?"

Suzuki sighed and shook her head, quickly twisting two wires together. "I've bypassed most of the damage. It should work, but it might not. Bullets make a radio's functionality questionable at best. Really, it needs replacement parts, but I've done just about the best that can be done with what I have. Get Hoshino to finish up. She should be able to figure out what's left to do, and then you just put it back together."

"Right, that'll be easy." Saori shook her head, indicating that, no, it wouldn't be easy.

Suzuki climbed out the hatch and hopped down to the ground. She found Maho and a sleepy Oryou waiting for her. "Reporting as ordered, ma'am. We're scouting?"

"Yes. Please don't get lost, and be back here by morning."

Suzuki held up her wristwatch. She pointed at the four different sections on its face. "Clock, compass, and barometer. Also another thing. I think it's either altitude or humidity, but I don't really use it."

Oryou squinted through her drowsiness. "You use a barometer?"

"I use it to avoid high-pressure situations!" She smiled victoriously, like she'd been waiting to use that joke.

Maho was unamused. "We want to make sure we're not all scouting the same area. I want us to go South, but we may need to go around some things. I want you two to scout to the Southwest and Southeast."

Oryou raised her hand. "I'll take Southwest."

Suzuki stretched her arms over her head, then leaned over forward and touched her fingertips to the toes of her boots. She came back up and took a deep breath. "Alright. You go deeper into hostile territory, I go closer to the border. Equal risks for all those involved."

"Then arm up and let's go."

* * *

There were no lights visible anywhere around her. Suzuki was glad, as this generally meant there was no one around. She hadn't found anything, and that meant it was a clear route for the platoon. She hadn't seen or heard any settlements or roads, which meant they were still well off the beaten path. It also meant that this would be a perfect place for artillery emplacements who had gone rogue from their government to hide.

Despite the lack of light, she could actually see reasonably well. Since there was no light pollution from the ground, the stars and the moon lit everything up instead. Climbing up another rocky ridge, she was able to not only see a good path for the tanks to get past the ridge, but also to determine that the ridge itself would make for a good place to stop for cover. She could also see the shimmering light of the moon reflecting off a lake down the other side of the ridge.

Looking down at her wristwatch, she clicked the button on the side that lit it up with a light blue glow. According to the clock, she'd been away for three hours. It would be time to start heading back in another hour at the most. She was fairly certain she'd kept track of the compass and where she'd gone. Pulling down her other sleeve, she checked her second wrist device. The GPS display wasn't any good, telling her it couldn't find a satellite to connect to. Frowning, she covered it up again with her sleeve and headed for the lake.

It was more of a pond, really, barely a hundred feet across. She knelt down at the water's edge, still debating in her head over the likelihood that it wasn't clean water. She was about to throw caution to the wind and fill up her canteen, which was running on empty, when she noticed something else reflecting the moonlight. It was on the other side of the water, standing several meters tall, with one long appendage jutting up at the sky at an angle. The entire mass, some twelve meters long, was covered in a thick net that, to anyone looking down from the air, would make it difficult to tell apart from the water around it.

Suzuki clicked the button on her watch, turning off the light, and clipped her canteen back onto her belt. She wasn't close enough to positively identify it, but if it wasn't the artillery they were looking for, then she was starting to see things. She briefly considered turning back and reporting it, but she couldn't do that while she didn't know if she was seeing it correctly. There was always the possibility that it was a fake, or an old abandoned vehicle, too. She had to get closer, which meant more risk, which meant she had to be careful about how she approached.

She had a rifle, which Maho had made sure she was carrying, but she couldn't use that either. She had no way of knowing what she was facing here. There could be another emplacement, or more, just over the next ridge, or closer. She moved away from the water's edge, going over the reports everyone gave from their first encounter. She knew they would be different when written down after the mission, the rest of the mission coloring their opinions of the fight. For now, at least, it was the best information she had for figuring out what she was up against.

Four men. That's what the other emplacement had. It was manned by four men. She had to operate on the assumption that there were at least that many here. Taking off her uniform, she wrapped it around her gear and her rifle, placing it all on a the ground far enough away from the water that it would hopefully stay dry. She wasn't a huge fan of the military issued underwear, but at least she'd still be wearing something while swimming across the pond to the artillery emplacement. That and she also needed to have something dry to wear, since the night was surprisingly cold for such an arid part of the world.

She of course had no idea what might be living in the water, but slowly and quietly made her way into the water regardless, bringing only her knife. About halfway across, she determined she wasn't actually going to have to swim, since it was only five feet at its deepest. Hopefully, that meant her approach would be quieter. She wouldn't be splashing about trying to swim up to it.

As she got closer, she could here the sounds of one or two men moving around. She didn't want to assume that meant there were only two. Any number of them could be sleeping, though she couldn't hear any snoring. She soon found that the back wheels of the carriage were resting in the water, and the soldiers manning it were around the front. From her place to the left of its rear, she judged that they were primarily at the opposite corner. She guessed they didn't expect attack to come from the water behind them.

Unfortunately, they were all together as a result, making them a more difficult target for her. She crept along the side of the carriage, listening for any hint that the men had caught on to her. It was hard to gauge whether or not they were even paying attention due to how little sound they were making. They weren't talking, and they didn't have a light on. They clearly didn't want to be found, but she thought it odd that they would be especially quiet unless they thought there was someone nearby listening for them.

Another step, almost to the front of the carriage, her foot caught on the tread. The sound would have been easily covered if they were having any sort of conversation, even in hushed tones, but there was no such conversation until after the tiny sound split the silence. Four men stood, two of them aiming their weapons in the direction of the sound and advancing slowly.

There were whispers, words she didn't know. She couldn't even guess what language. She would have presumed Turkish if she didn't know better. She wasn't an expert in the local languages, not by a long shot, but this certainly sounded to her nothing like any of them. The tone of their whispers sounded far more cautious than she would have thought, and for soldiers keeping so quiet, she thought they went for their guns just a little too quickly.

Whatever the answers were to all her questions, they weren't about to answer. They were getting closer and closer, weapons drawn with clear intent to kill. She gripped her knife tightly, holding her breath for the encounter to come. All worries of how she might be able to live with herself after killing someone were gone, her mind overridden with the singular concern for her own survival. As the first soldier's gun poked around the corner of the carriage frame, she realized she should have gone back when she had the chance.


	19. Artie Hunters: Nightly Returns

Gunfire broke the silence of the night, three rounds taking one of the soldiers in the chest and knocking him back against the artillery carriage where he crumpled to the ground, leaving a red trail down the metal siding. The next round took the man next to him in the forehead, and he fell to the ground like a weight. The two men who had been closing in on Suzuki turned to face their attacker, immediately opening fire on the hillside behind them. Their bullets disappeared harmlessly into the black night.

The invisible killer struck again, peppering the man farther from Suzuki with fire and dropping him into the dirt. The last man backed toward Suzuki, ducking in behind the carriage. He hadn't noticed, all his focus on whoever was shooting at them from the hill, that Suzuki was right next to him.

She knew that every second she didn't act was another second for him to see her and turn his gun and pull the trigger and end her life. Lifting the knife in her hand, reaching out for him, every second giving her every reason she could think of to keep moving and to stop moving. Whoever was shooting would know there were four men, and if she killed him they would know she was there, which she couldn't risk, but if she didn't act, he would see her and then they would know all the same. She argued with herself until it was too late to stop, but the answer was still the same. This man needed to die so she could have a chance at living.

She slid her knife in under his chin and pulled it away, dragging it across his throat. The serrated edge tore his throat out, spraying blood and gore out onto the ground. It would later occur to her that she should have used the straight edge, but for now she just stumbled back from her kill and tried not to make too much noise or throw up. She had to calm herself and let her stomach settle before she moved. She couldn't focus, she couldn't hear if the shooter was moving closer. She couldn't hear anything but her own heartbeat. She couldn't move for fear of giving herself away.

The night air came alive with the rumble of a large engine. Her heart skipped several beats at a time. She knew what that sound meant. Someone had found her. If it was the Turkish military, she had to avoid capture at all costs, especially while she was still in her underwear. Looking up at the hill ahead of the artillery carriage, she could see the dark shape of a tank moving under the moonlight. This was it. She had to move now.

The top hatch opened and Erika popped her head out, holding a lantern up. "Which of you Ooarai losers is down there?"

Suzuki's mind went through her options, recalculating based on what she knew. Erika must have returned to her post at some point and confronted Turtle Team. She would have found out what Maho was up to, learned of their orders, and decided to make her way into hostile territory in pursuit. Unfortunately, Suzuki knew this meant Erika was going against all her orders now, real and fake. Maho would be sure to tear her apart for this.

Suzuki backed away into the water. If Erika knew it was an Ooarai girl, she wouldn't shoot, but she didn't want Erika's full attention until she had her clothes back on. Judging by the way Erika was scanning the darkness around the artillery, Suzuki guessed she couldn't actually see her. As long as she didn't make any sound, she was safe. The sound of the engine from Erika's tank sure helped.

She slipped silently into the water and started moving across the pond, making her way back to her clothes. She could afford to move a bit quicker, even swimming some of the way. Again, she was relying on Erika not just shooting her. It should have been immediately obvious there was no such risk, but her mind was still in emergency mode and told her to avoid even the remotest chances.

* * *

Erika jumped down off her Tiger II and walked over to the fallen enemy soldiers. She set about searching each body and salvaging various items she found interesting. She took one of each of their weapons, and removed their rank insignias. Taking everything she found, and pocketing the insignias, she returned to her tank. Dropping back into her seat and closing the hatch behind her, she directed her crew to aim for the artillery.

"Destroy it. Then we'll find out what's going on."

* * *

Suzuki had removed her underwear and was pulling her pants back on when the artillery exploded, sending a fireball into the air that would be visible for miles. After a brief moment in stunned silence, she went back to work, zipping up and buttoning her pants. She buckled up the belt next and reached for her shirt. Already she could hear the Kuromorimine tank getting closer as it made its way around the pond, probably looking for her.

She buttoned up her shirt and picked up her gear, slinging it over her shoulder. She was making sure her watches were still working when the Tiger II finally rolled up beside her. Erika stuck her head out the hatch, holding out the lantern again. She looked far less than pleased, but Suzuki took the fact that she hadn't been shot yet to mean she wasn't going to get shot. She picked up her rifle and waved to the tank's commander.

"Thanks for the save. Can I dry my panties on your engine?"

Erika let out a low sigh. "Akiyama, you better have a good excuse for this."

"I'm Suzuki."

"You all look the same." Erika glanced around, looking for any sign of the rest of Ooarai's forces. "Are you the only one left?"

"I'm scouting. And what does 'you all' mean?"

Erika seemed perfectly content to not answer that. "You are to scouting what James Bond is to spying. Take us to the rest of your forces."

"Sure, I'll take the ride." Suzuki quickly clamored up onto the Tiger II, pointedly plopping her underwear down on top of the radiator. She quickly checked her compass and pointed Erika in the right direction. "That way. I'll adjust our heading as needed on the way."

Erika started heading back in, but paused, just barely looking out of the hatch. "I'd invite you in, but there's not enough room and I don't like you."

"Come up for directions regularly then."

Grumbling inaudibly, Erika disappeared inside her tank. A few seconds later, it started rolling forward, turning to the direction Suzuki had told them. She leaned back against the turret, keeping her eyes on her compass. It was going to be a long ride back.

* * *

Yukari couldn't sleep. She'd finished her shift on lookout and gotten back to her station to sleep the rest of the night, but falling asleep had proven harder than she'd expected. Climbing out of the tank, she found where a couple others were huddled around a lantern. Erwin nodded to her, and Hoshino patted the ground next to her. Yukari took a seat.

Erwin started talking right away, barely able to contain herself apparently. "Have you talked to Pazomi yet?"

Yukari looked up, surprised. She glanced to Hoshino for some explanation, but it seemed she was curious as well. "No, I didn't want to wake her up. Did you?"

Erwin nodded. "She and I were third watch. We had some time to chat. She told me she's worried about Sodoko."

"Why would she be worried about her?" Yukari pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I'm more worried about Hana. She's the one who got hurt the worst. What… what happened to Sono?" Yukari wasn't really keen on using the nicknames Mallard Team had been given by the others.

Hoshino shook her head. "Not what happened to her. What she did. Apparently, and I'm hearing this from Erwin who heard it from Nozomi, Private Sono blew away those soldiers we met earlier."

Erwin nodded. "Blew two of them up with the 47 and took the other two out with her sidearm."

So it had happened. Yukari wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it, that a member of Ooarai's after school club had killed four men, even if they were enemy soldiers. Really, it was startling to her that any of them had actually killed anyone. She should have expected it, considering they were in the military and well into hostile territory. It was technically their job. Still, it felt strange. Not quite wrong, though she felt there was good reason for it to feel wrong, it was just strange. Surreal, almost.

But in the end… "Is there really anything wrong with that? Isn't that what she was supposed to do?"

Erwin let out a long sigh. "I suppose so. I mean, but who's most likely to actually end up killing someone. It's the gunner, right?"

Hoshino casually waved her hand. "Yo."

Continuing, Erwin pointed back and forth between herself and Hoshino. "Right, and other than that it's the commander. I'm the one, Maho and Sodoko are the ones, who are gonna have to stick our heads out the top and shoot people off when they start climbing all over us."

Hoshino did a double take. "Ye-huh? You really think we're going to have people climbing on our tanks?"

"I don't know." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I just feel like it could happen at some point, I think it would be interesting, and it's probably a hell of a lot more likely now that I've said it out loud." She suddenly looked spooked. "Well, anyway, yeah… that, uh… gunners and commanders are the most likely to have to kill anyone."

"Or the drivers, if you want to be especially grusome." Hoshino nodded at her team's tank. "Tsuchiya is really concerned about it. Says she doesn't want to go crazy and start running people over. I think she'll be fine, though."

A breeze blew past, causing them all to shiver. Yukari pulled her legs in closer. "It's way too cold for the middle of the summer."

"Wide open terrain in early morning, it's to be expected." Erwin pointed past Hoshino, up at the hill to their South. "Somebody's here. Looks like Oryou."

They watched and waited for the next minute and a half as Saori, who was on watch, led Oryou back into the center of their makeshift camp. Oryou had been talking to Saori on the way over. She saw the others, offered a weak salute, and promptly crawled into the StuG to sleep.

Saori approached the three girls huddled around the lantern. "She says there's a weird sound coming from the East. Like an engine."

All three of them bolted up. Erwin patted herself down, looking for her sidearm. "An enemy vehicle? We should check it out…" She held her sidearm up and passed it to Saori, grabbing her rifle. "Trade. Stay here. I'm going to check it out."

Nakajima joined them. "I'll come with you. The rest of you arm up and be ready. We may have to start moving as soon as we get back."

"Or if you don't come back." Saori pushed Yukari towards the Panzer IV H. "Don't worry. We'll leave without you if we hear you getting shot."

Nakajima nodded to Erwin. "Come on." She led them away to the East, the two girls dropping to the ground on the other side of the second hill away. They listened in silence for a minute, waiting to hear anything.

Slowly, but surely, a low rumble started to echo over the hills. Erwin stood up. "Sounds like a Kuromorimine tank, I'd say a Tiger II. Most likely friendly."

Nakajima stood up as well. "A Tiger II? Out here? Why would… what do you mean 'most likely'?"

"I mean, they shouldn't be here, but I don't know anyone else with a Tiger II. It's getting closer. Might be looking for us. Maybe someone heading in to give us backup?"

They scaled the next hill, peering over the top. Just as they could see the top of the hill ahead of them, it came into sight. The large gray metal form of the Tiger II, with someone holding a lantern standing beside the turret. As it rolled down the side of the hill, drawing nearer, they could see that it was Suzuki standing on top. They watched as it rolled right up beside them and stopped.

Suzuki waved. "I made friends."

Erika pushed the hatch open and stuck her head out. "We're not your friends." She looked over Nakajima and Erwin. She shot a quick glare at Erwin. "Oh, great, it's you. At this rate my day won't be able to get any worse before the sun's even up."

Erwin saluted, half joking. "Good to see you too. Welcome back, private, and other private. I bet you were working on that quip for at least the past ten minutes."

Nakajima waved back. "Oryou's already returned. Now we're just waiting for Nishizumi." She turned to Erika. "And, hey, what about me? Don't I make your day any worse?"

Erika squinted at her. "Noriko, right?"

"I swear, it's like she has no clue Leopon Team exists." Suzuki climbed down with the lantern. "Come on, let's guide her back to camp."

Erwin patted Nakajima on the shoulder as she headed off alone. "I'll go ahead and make sure they know you're coming. Don't need panic fire."

Nakajima gave Suzuki a quick hug. "Glad you're safe. We were all pretty worried you guys wouldn't be coming back." She paused and sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"

Erika looked behind her and suddenly shouted at them. "Caesar! Get your underwear off my tank!"

Shaking her head, Suzuki moved to do as she was told. "Wrong again. Boy do I have a story for everyone."


	20. Pepperoni Command: To The Line

"How are you feeling, Lieutenant?"

Pepperoni's eyes fluttered open. She could see Colonel Victoria standing over her, waiting for her answer. She tried to come up with something witty. "Ever seen Aliens, ma'am?"

"I wouldn't be at liberty to tell you if I had, Lieutenant."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, shaking the dizziness away. "As interesting as that would be, I meant the movie."

"Oh. Yes, when I was twelve."

"I feel like one of those face-huggers got me."

Another voice came from across the room. "I guess you could say it John _Hurts_."

"He wasn't in Aliens, he was in the original. Who is that? Amaretto?" She leaned forward to try and get a good look. Her loyal driver waved back at her. She waved back. "Hey. I feel like I had bad pizza. What's up with that."

The colonel explained. "You've come from a completely different part of the world, so you needed to be inoculated against local viruses and such. A couple of you had some difficulty with the inoculation. You've recovered in a timely manner, though, and just in time to head out for your first mission. You think you're ready to move out?"

"Little hungry. Other than that, forget what I was complaining about. I think it's going away really quickly." She wasn't lying. The feeling inside her like she was going to throw up had already faded to a mild discomfort, and it was getting smaller with every passing second. She pushed off of the bed and planted her feet on the ground. "Yup. I'm ready. You?" She looked over to her driver.

Amaretto stood up herself and saluted playfully. "Si!"

"Good. Follow me." She turned and, without even waiting for them, walked out of the room. They followed obediently, Amaretto dashing the first couple of meters to catch up and then falling in beside Pepperoni. The colonel led them out of the building, which wasn't a usual-looking infirmary, but they assumed it had been adapted to its current use. She didn't look back check that they were both still with her before she started talking again. "It's almost noon. You'll have time for a quick lunch before you go, and you should be at your destination by sunset."

Pepperoni quietly pumped her fist in the air. She turned it into clearing her throat when the colonel suddenly glanced over her shoulder. "Right. Um, so where are we headed?"

"It's not so easy to say right out." The colonel finally led them into a small building without windows. There looked to only be three rooms. The one they were standing in took up half the building, and the other two were unevenly divided at the back, the smaller one sporting the colonel's nameplate on the door. Victoria took off her cap, stuffing it into her pocket. "That's better." She ushered them towards the larger of the two back rooms. "Wait in there. I'll join you in a moment."

Pepperoni and Amaretto opened the door and stepped in. Immediately, the fourteen girls already in the room stood at attention. They relaxed a little bit once they realized it wasn't the colonel, but not entirely because Pepperoni was also an officer. She noticed that there was only one empty seat, so she pointed Amaretto to it and waited standing, looking up at the large map on the wall in front of them.

One of the girls pointed to the two chairs sitting under the map. "I bet one of those is for you."

Pepperoni folded her arms over her chest. "I always stand during our briefings. Why would this be any different, Ravioli?"

The door opened behind her and the colonel stepped in. "Stay seated." She closed the door and took an extra moment to lock it. Stepping over to the center of the room, she produced a laser pointer from her pocket. "Pay close attention, because I won't be speaking loudly. Don't breathe a word of your mission to anyone. We cannot risk the enemy knowing you're coming until you're already on your way through them. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" Fifteen excited voices rang out together.

Pepperoni nodded, adding. "Classified mission, ma'am?"

"Something like that." She stepped off to the side, pointing the laser at the map. "This is how I'll be showing you where to go. Read the names, memorize them, do not repeat them out loud. This is how I will be briefing you from now on." The laser stopped on one town. "This is your destination." She ran it along a roundabout route across the country. "This is your route. Got it memorized?"

Several of the girls immediately confirmed that they'd memorized the route. Pepperoni traced along the route with her eyes, back and forth, over and over, burning it into her mind. The colonel waited until all of them had given her confirmation before turning off the laser and moving on.

"When you engage the enemy, do not take prisoners, do not try to get information from them. If they retreat, hunt them down. Any enemy forces that see you must die."

"That's a tall order, ma'am. We won't let you down." Pepperoni nodded to her troops, and they chorused their response as one again.

The colonel looked over them for a few seconds before continuing. "Next, a matter of great importance. You will each be supplied with one incendiary grenade besides your standard equipment. Keep it on you at all times, do not lose it, and do not use it unless absolutely necessary. Understand this, you are not to be captured. Dead or alive. Only use it in the event that you are going to be captured or your corpse can't be recovered."

Several hands went up. One of the girls at the front didn't wait to be picked. "Are you telling us to blow ourselves up to avoid capture, ma'am?"

Clasping her hands behind her back, the colonel glared down at the lowly private, who shrunk back in response. "I'd prefer it if you didn't waste my resources, soldier."

Sensing that the colonel wasn't going to give them any more on that subject, Pepperoni decided to elaborate on that. "Probably preferable to what they'd do to us as captives."

Amaretto frowned at whatever dark fate she was imagining. "What about if we're dead, though? What do I care what they do with my body when I'm dead? Just don't fuck it." She looked up to see both officers just staring blankly at her. "Wait, would they?"

The colonel let that thought sink in for a moment. There was no guarantee any of them would face such disgrace after death, but it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't. They needed the context anyway, however realistic is might have been, so she waited until it looked like they'd all come to terms with their hypothetical situation before changing the subject. "Alright! You've still got some time before you move out, so let's get you something to eat!"

Pepperoni hopped in place. "Food time! Let's eat!"

* * *

All the thoughts that might have interfered with their appetites didn't survive the walk to the mess hall. There was a large buffet that had been prepared for them with nearly every type of food any of them were named after. It didn't look like anyone else was around, strangely enough, so the food was practically untouched.

The moment they reached it, the raid began. Heaping helpings of lasagna and pizza were stacked onto plates and covered in spaghetti and ravioli. Other assorted foods that most people couldn't spell, pronounce, or recognize were scooped, ladled, and sliced into portions fit for a person the size of any two of them. The colors of the day were red and orange.

Twenty minutes in, Pepperoni was most of the way through her third pizza with a fourth one sitting next to her waiting. She was experimenting with how much of the slice she could fit in her mouth all at once when a thought struck her. Pizza slice still in her mouth, she looked down at her next pizza. She was pretty sure she could eat it.

Swallowing both the slice in her mouth and the one in her hand, she stared at the next pizza. She leaned over and elbowed Amaretto beside her. "Hey… you still hungry?"

The girl turned and immediately reached after the neglected pizza. "Yes? I'll finish that for you if you can't."

Pepperoni slapped her hands. "I'm still hungry too, stop it."

"Ow. Okay." Rubbing the backs of her hands, Amaretto nodded towards the pizza in question. "So then what's the problem?"

"I can eat four pizzas in a day. No problem. Five, six maybe even. And I could definitely eat that one now, but that's four in one sitting."

Amaretto seemed to think it over for a moment, then quietly pushed her lasagna away from her a bit. "Why do you think that is, then?"

Pepperoni grinned. "I've grown as a person." She grabbed a slice in each hand and started eating. Amaretto watched for another couple seconds before smirking and heading back to her own food.

* * *

"Hope you enjoyed that meal, ladies! Now load up!"

Pepperoni was about ready to get out of earshot of the colonel so it could be her turn to do the yelling. She led her girls over to the colonel and the crates of weaponry they were being supplied with. Machine guns, pistols, grenades and knives. Each girl would get her own, both gunners and drivers. In amongst the weapons was the incendiary grenade. They all sobered up at the sight of it, quickly selecting a pocket and storing it away out of sight.

The CV-33's were loaded down as well with all sorts of extra equipment they might need. Collapsed ladders, wooden boards, spaced armor, shovels, water tanks, rope, hammers, screwdrivers, drills, and coiled cables that could all be necessary at any given moment. It was like they were expected to be combat engineers as well. At the very least, Pepperoni thought, they'd look like angels to any lucky combat engineers they did meet.

Pepperoni knew her crews. She directed the pairs of drivers and gunners into their vehicles, putting them where she knew they belonged. Finally, she hopped up on top of the CV-33 at the head of the column and climbed in. She patted Amaretto's shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up. Her driver returned the gesture, grinning ear to ear.

"Let's go, girls."

"Si!" The Carro Veloce lurched ahead, rolling towards the front gates of the base.

Pepperoni stood up out of the top and waved to the seven CV-33's behind her. "Anzio! Forward!"

One after the other, they started following her lead. All eight of them rushed out the gate at full speed. They were heading towards battle, leaving a cloud of dust flying up into the air behind them. Pepperoni was so caught up in the moment, the feeling of the wind in her hair as she leaned forward out of the top hatch, that she didn't even realize it until they'd been heading down their road for a good half hour. She had no idea what they were even supposed to do once they reached their destination.

Ducking inside, she tapped Amaretto's shoulder. "Keep going. I'll be back in a bit."

"Si! Wait, what?"

Pepperoni climbed out of the CV-33 and stood on top of it, gauging how far it was to the second one. The space looked about three meters, and it was directly behind her, so she jumped. It hadn't really occurred to her what would happen should she land short of her mark, but it didn't need to. She landed squarely in front of the drivers eyes, both feet firmly planted on Carro Veloce metal. She patted the gun and climbed up to the top.

The Carro Veloce's gunner greeted her, standing out of the vehicle. "Ma'am? That was quite the jump. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing yet, but close the formation. I'll need to jump back. I'm holding an impromptu mobile meeting, so stick around." With that, Pepperoni stepped past her and jumped over to the third Carro Veloce.

One after another, she gave the command to close the formation and for the gunners to join her at the front. They all quickly found that, especially with the distance closed, jumping from one CV-33 to the next was rather easy. In only a few minutes, all eight gunners sat or stood on the four lead vehicles, two to a Carro Veloce. They'd made up a decent cross formation as well, so Pepperoni wouldn't have to shout too loud for the girls on the fourth vehicle to hear her.

"Alright, ladies! It has come to my attention that we're on our way into combat. Possibly a heavy war zone. Fact is, we have no idea what we're going to be facing. We don't even know what kind of allied forces we can expect, but that's not the problem. Turns out, I don't really know what we're supposed to do once we get there. Any thoughts?"

The gunner from the third tank, currently at the right of the formation, raised her hand. "We should probably locate the allied commander in the area. If there isn't one, that means it's you, in which case we defer to your judgment." The others all nodded in agreement.

Pepperoni shrugged. "In that case, I wouldn't be able to make any decisions until we get there. Again, we don't know what it looks like. I'll have to take stock of the situation first, figure out who to shoot and all that."

Another girl raised her hand. "I have a question. Do we call you Duce now?"

She was about to answer, but stopped to think it over. Did she want to be Duce? Did being the lieutenant count? Was it right to replace Anchovy in their hearts? Didn't she have to prove herself in battle first? "Eh… not yet, at least. If that's all, then return to your vehicles. No more than three people on a tank at any given time, though, and that includes the drivers. We don't want to weigh them down too much."

They stood and saluted, then quickly turned and hopped away across the tops of the CV-33's. She turned and dropped back down into her own vehicle. So she still didn't know what their mission really was. Just that it was classified, or 'something like that'. She had to wonder what that meant exactly, she just had to. But she didn't.

She leaned forward to complain to her driver, losing all interest in the mission for the time being. "I can't tell if I'm hungry because I need food or because I just know I could eat more. Explain what my body is doing."

"Please don't break into the rations. We need those, Lieutenant." She glanced over her shoulder. "I've got this covered. Why don't you take a nap so you're nice and rested when we get there. I'll wake you if anything happens."

A nap did sound nice. Not as nice as a snack… or a meal. It was worth a try. And before she knew it, Pepperoni was sprawled out as much as humanly possible in the back of the Carro Veloce, snoring loudly. She might have dreamed, but whatever she dreamed would soon disappear and be forgotten.

She was pulled back to the waking world by Amaretto's shouts.

"Lieutenant! Active firefight! We're headed right into the middle of it!"

Jumping up, Pepperoni was completely awake without a second's delay. She pushed the hatch open and stuck her head out, looking around. They were driving along the same road as before, just entering a town. The sun was getting low on the horizon, casting the considerably barren land around them in a dusky orange shadow. Ahead, straight down the road through the center of the town, she could see a courtyard around a large building. The windows were all gone, and the walls pocked with bullet holes. A section of the roof had collapsed in on itself as well.

The building still looked in use, and as they drew closer she could see several soldiers standing guard outside, some patrolling further down the street. It wasn't another five seconds before most of them were pointing their weapons at her. She quickly reached down and grabbed her radio to issue an order to her girls.

"Halt!"

The eight Carro Veloces stopped immediately, waiting in silence for further orders.

Pepperoni looked out over the two dozen men aiming various weapons at her. She cleared her throat, putting forward her best English, emphasized with over-exaggerated hand gestures. "Hello! Are you the good guys?"

An officer stormed out of the building, trailed by two other men. He pushed his way through the soldiers to the front, looking up at the strange girl who had appeared out of nowhere. He frowned, clearly tired and weary. "I'm Captain Toscano, and I'm in charge of the United Nations forces here. Would be the major, but we just spent several hours digging him out from under that pile of rubble. We've been in constant battle for the past day and a half and have finally managed to push them back to the old hospital at the edge of town. So I'm sure you'll understand, if you're with the enemy we'd rather you just turned around and went away."

"Hmm." She reached down and grabbed her map, opening it and showing it to him. "I think we're here to help you, but just in case, would you mind showing me where exactly we are?"

He casually pointed. "Right here." It was pretty obvious he had been overworked and wasn't ready to get his hopes up for reinforcements.

Pepperoni was glad to be able to tell him. "Perfect. Colonel Victoria has sent us to support your men! Lieutenant Pepperoni, ready for action!"

Slowly, the men lowered their guns. The captain stared blankly at her.

"Pepperoni?"


	21. Pepperoni Command: Keep Pushing

Two of Pepperoni's girls, Tortellini and Risotto, scuttled through the short trench the United Nations soldiers had dug out across the street in front of the hospital. They climbed over soldiers who were resting in the trench along their way. At the end of the trench was the door into a building, but since the trench was down in the ground one would normally be required to climb up out of the trench to enter. However, the soldiers had busted out the bottom of the doorway, making a ramp up into the building instead.

They stood up once they were inside the building, taking a quick moment to stretch. Risotto finished first and headed for the door opposite where they'd entered. Technically, she was still open to the enemy guns on the other side of the building, but if she stuck to the wall they wouldn't be able to see her without running out of their own cover. Tortellini followed her closely, punching her shoulder.

"Hey, fuck off. Or I'll tell Ciabatta you're being mean again. You'll make her cry."

"You'll make her cry. If you tell her, it's your fault."

They made their way down the street, hugging the buildings, until they could turn back to the main street through an alleyway. They came out behind a barricade, where two UN soldiers greeted them cheerfully. None of the men in the town were happy about the idea of young girls being sent to war, but on the other hand they were glad for something pleasant to look at. It didn't help matters that most of the Anzio girls were naturally quite flirtatious, but the commanders seemed willing to let it go so long as nothing developed.

Running back to where the Carro Veloces were parked, out of sight to the enemy holed up in the hospital, Risotto and Tortellini skidded to a halt in front of Captain Toscano and their own Lieutenant. Pepperoni smiled at how quickly they'd completed their mission.

"Report."

Risotto started. "The trench is a good depth, and it would be too wide to just drive across, but there's a bit of a lip. Dirt piled up from when it was dug out. Using that, I bet we could jump it easily."

Tortellini added her own observations. "We talked to some of the men in the tower on the South side of the street. They showed us the South wall of the hospital. It's mostly collapsed, but there's a reliable way in and out. If we can get there, we could storm the building without much risk, or just plug the hole with a CV-33. We might even be able to drive one in there."

"I also caught a glimpse of one of the men taking a pee. Full Italian."

The Captain frowned. "I don't think that-"

Pepperoni interrupted him. "Good work. Captain, is there a place we can go to iron out the details?"

"Right, follow me." He led her over to the half-collapsed building that was being used as their base of operations. There appeared to be little question as to its structural integrity. Only one half had collapsed, and they were going to be in the other half. "This should be good enough. It worked fine until it was shelled."

Pepperoni looked around the room. She could see blood on the floor down the hall through the door at the back of the room. "Do they have something like that stored away in the hospital? How'd they manage to shell you?"

"I'll be honest, we're still not sure where the shot came from. Most likely somewhere Southwest of here, but there's no way to know for sure right now."

"I hate to think they could fire again at any time." She shook her head. "Okay, so I'm thinking we attack after dark. That's just me, though. What do you prefer?"

Toscano sat down in a chair in the far corner. He let out a long sigh. "If you're going for the South side of the hospital, we're going to need to distract them on the other side. My men are exhausted, so I'd be glad for you to lend some of yours. How many do you need on your end?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Hmm. Considering what I'm doing… I just need one of the CV-33's in order to accomplish that goal, really. I'll put Ravioli on it. The rest of us will support your men."

He let show a small smile. "I'll admit that, at the point we'd reached, I'd have been glad for a cheerleader team. Getting you girls is short of a miracle."

"We aim to please, sir. Will that be all?"

"Um, well, I know you just got here, but I don't want you to feel like you can't report when my men act inappropriately. I've heard rumors about what's going on with your schools. I know none of you had a choice about coming here, so I at least think my men should be more considerate than what we heard about back there."

Pepperoni smirked. It was really Colonel Victoria who was being considerate. She sent them to support a unit comprised of Italian soldiers. They could all communicate better in Italian than English, let alone Japanese. "Sir, we come from an all girls school. One that borderline glorifies Italian culture at that. The amount of imported contraband pornography… It'd probably do them some good to see a three-dimensional penis for once."

"I hardly think that's a required part of being in the military. I'd prefer we try to avoid it."

"That's fair." She winked at him. "At least until after we've driven out our enemy."

"…" He stood up. "About that. I get that your training was probably accelerated. It might be better that you stay back and we handle it. You can give us supporting fire from the trenches and the tower while we make the charge."

"I appreciate the courtesy, sir, but… you know, we brought tanks."

"I'm not sure if those really count."

"Tankettes. My point is, we have mobile armor, we know how to use it."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"Everyone, arm up. We're running support." Pepperoni watched as her girls quickly armed themselves and stood in formation in front of the CV-33's, waiting for her orders. "Good. Cannoli, Fettuccine, Tiramisu, Spaghetti, Margherita, and Panini. I want you all in the trench. Tortellini, Ciabatta, Lasagna, and Mozzarella, I want you in the buildings on the North side helping the captain's men draw as much fire that way. Risotto and Gnocchi, I want you in that tower on the South side. Let us know the instant we're in the clear to go."

"Yes ma'am!" They all rushed off to find their places according to her orders.

Pepperoni nodded to Amaretto. "We get the fun job." She turned to the last pair. "There appears to be a hole on the South wall of the hospital. Amaretto and I will be escorting you on foot, while the two of you will jump the trench and drive right up into the building. You ready?"

The driver nodded dutifully. "Yes ma'am."

The commander of the pair, Ravioli, took a deep breath. "Ma'am… we won't let you down." She was clearly more pensive than her driver, but she was clearly determined enough to do her job.

"Good. Rest here until dark. I'm going to check out the trench while we have time."

Ravioli watched the lieutenant leave, then turned to the two drivers. "I think it goes without saying, but I'm really not ready to die here."

Amaretto gave her a wide grin. "Go find a priest. Or, you could spend your time getting ready to kill instead. Might serve you better."

Ravioli frowned. "I…" She looked to her own driver. "Salami, what about you? You're scared, right?"

"I have an incendiary grenade. I'm not afraid of anything."

"Right, well, if you're going to use _that…_ make sure you're only speaking for yourself, alright?"

"If I'm using it, you're probably already dead." Salami turned around and climbed into their CV-33. "I'm going to get some rest before it's time to move. Wake me when it's dark."

* * *

It was several hours before dark fell. Pepperoni was crouched down, running through the trench, and looking over the edge toward the hospital every few meters. It wasn't the hopelessly dark night she'd been expecting. All the town's lights had been cut, streetlights and building lights, but there were low lights set into the bottom of the trench that gave off a small warm glow. None of that really made a difference to her, as the entire place was still practically bright as day.

Not literally bright as day, but stealth was utterly out of the question if this was as dark as it got. "Shit. This is not gonna work." She popped her head up, getting a clear look at the hospital. Normally, she wouldn't see anything but what looked like an empty building, but this time she saw movement. She quickly ducked back down and grabbed her radio. "Captain, I'm seeing movement in the hospital."

" _Really?_ " He sounded surprised, but continued anyway. " _I'll say the mission is a go. We'll start the diversion in five minutes to give you time to get out of that trench, Lieutenant._ "

That was absurd. There's no way the plan could work with this much light. "Negative, Captain. I can see them, they can see us. Diversion will not work. I repeat, diversion will not work in this light. We need a new plan."

There was a pause before he responded. " _It's pretty dark, Lieutenant. Are you sure?_ "

"Yes sir. It is not dark enough for this to work at all."

" _It's plenty dark, but if you're sure about that…_ " His idea of what was plenty dark clearly differed from her own. " _Lieutenant, where in the hospital did you see the movement. Maybe the gunfire will be enough of a diversion._ "

"Left… uh, South side. Hold on." Pepperoni looked back over the edge, her eyes darted around and fixing on every movement she could see through the windows and broken walls. "There's a lot of movement now. All over. At the very least, we need them distracted, but as soon as they see the CV-33, they're going to go after it. We need them reliably occupied. Can you d-"

A very strange sound caused her to stop mid-sentence. She wasn't sure quite what it was. A very loud thud followed by a wet squish, maybe a bit of something cracking. It was incredibly loud, and she thought it might have blown out her ears even. She looked over at Amaretto. She was about to try and ask her what that was, but her mouth wasn't working. It must have been an artillery strike, or some other kind of cannon, maybe even a flash grenade. Something that could stun her like this. She desperately wanted to know what had incapacitated her so effortlessly.

She heard Amaretto say something, but it sounded more distant. Like her driver was a dozen meters away instead of a few feet. "Lieutenant? Are you alright?"

Amaretto was getting a bit too close for comfort. Her face was right there. Too close, and… Pepperoni realized that she was lying on her back, staring up at the sky. Amaretto was leaning over her. What happened? Did an explosion knock her back?

"Is she alright?"

"Holy shit, that creamed her!"

"Her eyes aren't focusing, but she's breathing. Lieutenant, if you can hear and understand me, blink twice."

She must have been in shock. They were being good soldiers and making sure she was still able to function as the head of their unit. She gave them the two blinks they wanted. They all looked fine, so it must have just been her.

"Lieutenant, stay calm. You've been shot in the head. You're helmet probably saved your life, but you're in shock. We need to get you out of the trench now."

Shot? In the head?

Pepperoni reached up and grabbed her helmet, taking it off so that she could look at it. Sure enough, something had smashed its was through the helmet's side. An inch to the left and it would have gone through her eye. But it hadn't. She'd have to find a mirror afterward to see if it had made her any less pretty.

She put her helmet back on and pushed herself back up. She shook her head, doing her best to will her mouth to work. "Buuh… um uh…" She spat, trying to clear her mouth. No other sound was working, so… "Fuck!"

"Lieutenant?"

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Fucking fucky fuck!"

"Are you… okay?"

It felt like her mouth had loosened back up. She fixed Amaretto with a hard stare. "I'm alive. So now they're dead." She found her radio in the dirt beside her and clicked it on. "Anzio. Turn that building into Swiss cheese."

She could hear the enthusiastic 'Yes ma'am!' come from all around her. The next instant, every one of the girls under her command opened fire. Submachine guns lit up the hospital, peppering the walls rather uselessly, but it was bound to get the attention of anyone alive inside. She stood up, pulling up her own rifle and firing at the building with little regard for structural damage. Any movement she could have seen was totally obscured by the cloud of dust and debris from the sustained attack.

Puffs of dirt flew up off the ground in front of her. The enemy was firing back, but somehow she wasn't worried about getting hit. Beside her and Amaretto, two other girls had ducked back into the trench to reload. Pepperoni gave them a quick nod and, just as she was about to fire another spray of lead at the hospital, a peculiar object bounced into the trench next to them.

"Grenade!" One of the girls reacted quickly, grabbing the grenade and standing up to throw it back towards the enemy. A bullet whizzed by, splattering its way through her wrist. She dropped the grenade and fell against the back of the trench. The grenade landed right in the center of the four of them.

Pepperoni closed her eyes, expecting to be blown apart, or at the very least be filled with hot shrapnel.

She heard the explosion, though it was a bit muffled. She looked back to see the first girl's partner had thrown herself on the grenade. The amount of damage it had done to her body was more than Pepperoni had seen in any movie. The worst part was that she girl was still alive somehow, gasping for breath.

There was no way to tell if she was going to stay alive for any amount of time. Pepperoni ducked down and grabbed the girl cradling her arm. "Get her to the buildings on the North! Keep her covered!" She stood up and waved at the rest of her girls. "Get up out of there! Head to the CV-33's! We're moving up!"

Just as she finished shouting her orders, she felt a sharp sting as another bullet grazed the back of her neck. This wasn't the place for her girls. It was a mistake to put them in trenches. She jumped up out of the trench, and the rest followed her. Now it was time to make a mad rush to the tanks. And mad rush they did.

Gunfire ripped through the air, pounding the ground. The enemy didn't want them reaching the tanks. That was just too bad. Something hit the ground and exploded between Pepperoni and Amaretto. They kept going. The enemy fire hit home, and two of the girls hit the ground, rolling to a stop on the street. Amaretto cried out in pain, and suddenly she was limping.

" _We'll cover you, Lieutenant!_ " The gunfire from the North and South intensified. The enemy returned fire on them, and stopped firing at Pepperoni. " _Oh… shit. Pleasure serving with you, ma'am._ "

Pepperoni looked back just in time to see someone in the hospital fire a rocket launcher at the South tower. The building exploded, collapsing before her eyes. That was Risotto and Gnocchi somewhere inside the shattered tower, the bright orange fireball.

" _Ma'am, get behind us!_ " A CV-33 rolled up beside her. Ravioli popped her head out the hatch and saluted. "Ready to attack!"

"Right!" She turned to the others who had made it this far back. "Fettuccine, Margherita, I want you two to get a CV-33 and start running back and forth taking our wounded away from the front. Amaretto, how's your leg?"

"Ma'am, fuck my leg. They blew up my friends."

"Then climb aboard. Ravioli, you have an extra gun." She helped Amaretto up on top of the CV-33. "Alright, let's get moving! I want all of them dead by daylight!"

"Si!"


	22. Pepperoni Command: Breach!

The CV-33 was moving toward the trench. Pepperoni was pretty sure it could make the jump, given a ramp, but the dirt piled up beside the trench was no longer looking like a viable ramp. She'd have to make a better one. She ran ahead and dropped into the trench next to a pair of the Italian soldiers. One of her girls was there as well, but she'd clearly been through so much that Pepperoni couldn't tell who she was.

The young soldier's hair was scorched, her face blackened with smoke and dirt. Her clothes were ruined, covered in the dirt of the battle, with tears and holes clearly burned into the uniform all over. Her entire left sleeve was hanging off in a shredded mass. Still, her hands were gripping her weapon, holding it steady. Her eyes were angry, but she was taking deep breaths to keep herself calm.

Pepperoni grimaced at the sight, but put her focus on her mission. She addressed the two men. "I need to make a ramp in ten seconds! What do you have?"

They pointed over at the end of the trench where it went into a building, the entrance to the ruined tower. Sure enough, there was a ramp inside the building. She rushed over, keeping her head down on the way. The ramp was stuck into the ground pretty well, so she thought she would have to struggle with it, costing her precious time. To her surprise, when she wrapped her fingers around either side of the ramp and pulled, the seemingly sturdy metal bent up and came free. She held it up and ran back, keeping it between her and the hospital. She could hear several shots hit the ramp, some bouncing off and some going right through. She could feel their impacts, numbing her hands.

"Help me!" She shouted at the three soldiers once she made it back, ramming the end of the ramp into the dirt up on the near side of the trench. Without question they piled in under the ramp and held it up, bracing for the CV-33. They didn't have long to wait. It felt like an elephant stepped on her back, for the second it was there, and then the CV-33 was soaring through the air at an impressive altitude. She could hear Amaretto shouting over all the gunfire.

She wanted to collapse. To fall into the mud face first and stay there until someone brought her a twenty inch pizza. But her mission wasn't over yet. She had to take the hospital. They dropped the ramp, and it fell across the trench, making a bridge. It occurred to her that a bridge would have been easier. Disregarding it, she patted her unidentifiable soldier on the back.

"I'm ready to support them, ma'am."

"Then let's go!"

They clamored out of the trench and were greeted with a hail of bullets. Pepperoni felt something hit her, like someone had just punched her in the chest. She fell forward, just barely catching herself with her hands. The hit had winded her, whatever it was. Her chest felt wet. She lifted one hand and put it into her uniform. Bringing it back out, she could see dark red dripping between her fingers.

"Shit…" She could feel the hole in her body now. No, that wasn't right. She could feel three. Her arm started shaking, suddenly giving out and letting her fall into the dirt. It felt like her energy, her life, was draining out of her body.

That couldn't be all. She wasn't done yet. One hand on the ground, pushing her back up. One foot, then the other. Finger on the trigger. Eyes on the hospital. Don't forget to breathe. Get through this night. Do your job. Survive the battle. Pull the trigger. Kill them.

Her body felt beyond exhausted, but she could still move. She just had to ignore the draining feeling, the pain, and how hungry she was becoming. Half charging, half stumbling, she caught up to her comrades at the side of the hospital. They were working out a way to get the CV-33 up into the building. The hole was indeed large enough to easily fit the vehicle, and it could make its way through the halls with a little difficulty, but the way up was another question. Pepperoni ran up beside them just as they were starting to decide there must be another way to win the fight.

"Ma'am! I thought I saw you get hit!"

Pepperoni couldn't dwell on it. She would collapse all over again. She looked up at the hole in the wall. There was practically a ramp up to it made out of rubble. She could already see it was too steep for the CV-33 to manage all on its own. "Get behind and start pushing."

"Uh… oh! Yes ma'am!" The young soldier ran around behind the CV-33 and started pushing.

Pepperoni moved to join her, calling up to Amaretto. "Get down here and help us!"

"Si!" She rolled off, landing on her good leg. Pepperoni could see her driver limping over to join them.

Pepperoni waited until they were ready. Then she shouted the order. "Go!"

The Carro Veloce's engine roared as it began crawling upward. The three girls planted their feet anywhere that felt sturdy and shoved the vehicle with all their might. They were used to tipping their vehicles back onto their treads, and even flipping them over, but pushing one up a steep grade was a whole different task. Still, with all their efforts, the CV-33 began to move up towards the wall. Every few inches, they would have to step up further to regain their footing. Their feet would slip down through the rubble, threatening to cost them the progress they'd made. It was an uphill battle, in almost every sense.

The last remaining piece of the uphill battle arrived when they were halfway up. Three enemy combatants appeared in the hole, firing down upon the CV-33. Inside, Ravioli manned the gun and fired back. One of the men took a shot to the head and fell back out of sight. The other two took cover to avoid suffering the same fate.

Pepperoni shouted again. "Keep pushing!"

The enemy kept firing, bullets bouncing off the Carro Veloce's reinforced armor. Amaretto's shoulder was bleeding from where a shot had clipped her. Ravioli was struggling to aim and fire back. Pepperoni could feel the blood from her chest wounds running down her legs and into her boots.

The other girl turned around, pushing with her back. She smiled through her grimace. "We're doing pretty well for our first mission, ma'am!"

"Tell that to the ones we lost! After you dig Gnocchi and Risotto out of that pile of rubble!"

"…Ma'am, I'm Risotto."

"Oh. Really?"

"Pretty sure."

The CV-33 hatch opened up and Ravioli climbed out. "Fuck this, seriously." She pulled the pin on her incendiary grenade and tossed it up into the breach. She ducked back into the hatch just as the grenade detonated in a bright flash, setting the breach on fire and burning the enemies to death in an instant.

Pepperoni felt the blast of heat from the grenade, and she knew what it meant. For now, it meant it was time to push. "Go! Earn your next meal!"

The CV-33 crested at the top of the ramp of rubble, its nose sticking up into the air, its treads losing purchase and its belly becoming exposed for a brief moment. Then, it dropped onto the floor and lurched forward. Pepperoni and Amaretto jumped up on top of the vehicle, aiming their weapons around the hallway they had found themselves in. It was clear for now, but that likely wasn't going to last.

Pepperoni waved back at Risotto. "Stay out here and cover our backs! Amaretto, you're up front with me! Salami, stay close! Ravioli, blast anything that isn't us!"

"Si!" They chorused together. That's what she wanted to hear.

Amaretto ran up to the first door, ignoring her leg wound entirely, and kicked it in. Whoever was inside the room opened fire the moment she was in sight. The hot lead punched right through her and into the wall on the other side of the hall. She half leaped, half collapsed out of the way to where Pepperoni caught her.

"That could have been better. How many?"

"Fuck. Lieutenant, it looked like three piles of dirty laundry."

She wasn't sure where Amaretto was hit, so she couldn't do anything right now that wouldn't put them at risk. She hoisted her subordinate onto the CV-33 and climbed over behind the vehicle. She hauled Amaretto down just as two men rushed out of the room, and Ravioli cut them down effortlessly.

Pepperoni set Amaretto down next to Risotto. "Hold on. We'll get you out of here and you'll be fine."

"I feel terrible." Amaretto coughed a bit, but surprisingly there wasn't any blood coming from her mouth. "But I think I'll be fine. Eventually."

Ravioli called back to her commander. "They're doing something. Enemies mobilizing! Lieutenant!"

Pepperoni winked at Amaretto. "Time for some thrilling heroics." She turned and crawled over the top of the CV-33, aiming down the hallway ahead of them. She could see movement, but not any of the things moving. She knocked on the hatch, waiting until Ravioli opened up a little. "I'm going in ahead. Please don't shoot me."

"Si."

Pepperoni climbed down the front of the tankette, keeping her eyes on the dark hall in front of them. She could hear them whispering through the constant noise of gunfire. Moving up, one step at a time, Pepperoni passed the first room, then another on the other side. The first had just been emptied, and the other would have anyone in it since it was an internal room with no windows. It would have no use for them. Her attention was on the next pair of doors. The door to the inside room in this pair was shut. She could afford to ignore it until she heard the sound of the door opening, so her attention turned exclusively to the open that would lead to a room with windows overlooking the trench outside.

She took a deep breath and paused. She could hear the breathing in the room just ahead of her, two men taking a break from peppering her allies with lead so that they could focus on her. She knew where they were in the room. One in the far corner from the door, gun no doubt trained on where they expected she would appear. The other was crouched down in front of the windows, closer to the middle of the outside wall. The door was a bad place to be, so it occurred to her to go through the wall. Or to get them to aim at the wall.

Pepperoni rushed back to the CV-33 and grabbed a screwdriver that was fastened onto the outside. She stabbed it into the wall, punching through the brittle material, and then dived to the side. Enemy fire shredded the wall, showering her with dust and rubble. Behind her, Ravioli popped out of the CV-33 and started blasting away with her rifle, drawing further fire. Taking advantage of the extra distraction, Pepperoni rounded the corner. She held the trigger down before she could even see anyone. She felt a rush through her head as the air filled with smoke and dirt so much she couldn't see her enemy even when she was fully inside the room. Her finger lifted off the trigger. The dust settled and the smoke cleared.

They were dead. There was no way for Pepperoni to tell if she'd got them or if Ravioli had gunned them down through the wall. Speaking of the wall, it was all but gone now. Pepperoni's mind paused for all of a second, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. The answer was find the rest of them and kill them. She turned back to the hall, motioning to Ravioli to duck back inside the tankette.

Three or four more of the enemy soldiers, though they could hardly be called soldiers, tried shooting her in the hall, but most of them stayed in the rooms until she got to them. One by one, Pepperoni and Ravioli killed most of them. Pepperoni took a few more shots herself, mostly just grazing her but one went through her leg and slowed her down for a moment, but by the time she reached the end of the hallway she couldn't even feel it anymore. There was no time to worry about that, as there was still one room with enemies inside.

She turned into the room, seeing her target standing in the corner. Just where they all went. But this one was a little bit different. He wasn't holding a gun, which caused her to pause a second. In that second, she realized what he was holding. It was a detonator. Before Pepperoni could wonder what it was supposed to detonate, the man shouted something she couldn't make out, and the next instant all her senses blacked out.

Ravioli saw her lieutenant turn into the room, and then everything turned to a cloud of dust as the room's walls were blown out. Whatever was in there, it had exploded as soon as Pepperoni went in. Pushing the hatch open, Ravioli jumped out of the CV-33 and ran to the lieutenant's side, only to see she was still standing.

Pepperoni let out a cough. Her senses were still returning bit by bit, but she was pretty sure she'd be fine. She managed to croak out a complaint. "That was unnecessary." She reached for her radio, only to find a piece of shrapnel bisecting it. "Ah shit. Ravioli, give me your radio."

"Si!" She obediently handed it over. "Did we finish in here?"

"We'll see." With one hand Pepperoni used the radio while pulling the shrapnel out of her own radio with the other hand. "Captain, you still out there? I think we cleared them out."

There was a few seconds of silence, and then the captain's voice came back. " _Understood._ _We'll clean up. Your colonel called. She wants you back right away._ "

"Aww. No time for mingling. Tell your men you can treat us next time."

* * *

The one CV-33 was a little beat up, but nothing they couldn't fix themselves, let alone the experts in the army. Preparing to leave, Pepperoni took a moment to count her soldiers. She had to count several times because, first of all, they kept moving around and many of them were covered in so much dirt it was hard to tell where one Anzio girl ended and another began. But more than that, she had to recount because she was sure there was no way she hadn't lost any.

She tapped one that she thought might be Gnocchi on the shoulder. "Hey, didn't a building fall on you?"

Gnocchi took a moment to think about it, then answered simply. "Yeah, I guess so."

Pepperoni grimaced. That did it. It was obvious that they were invincible. She raised her voice. "Okay, Anzio! Let's head home and celebrate with a feast!" They responded with a resounding cheer.


End file.
